The Japril Marshmallow Fluff Project
by FromScratch413
Summary: A series of fluffy one shots featuring Japril kids to help get us (me) through season 11 winter hiatus. I don't own the Grey's Anatomy characters in these fics.
1. An Introduction

**Hi everyone! I'm doing another one shot project on my Tumblr, asking for fluffy prompts with Japril kids in them. They can include TGO girls, if you want me to write more of their history from before the fic starts! Anyway, someone asked me to post them on here and it totally makes sense, as it's easier to leave feedback ect. Also, I will be better with uploading this, as it will be once a week and not every day. **

**The prompt was for April to accidentally reveal the baby's gender during a fight. So for this, pretend the ultrasound happened within a day or two of Mama K coming. I was interested in exploring the complexity of April and Mama K's relationship, a tiny bit. But more, with this, I wanted to highlight Jackson's difficulty connecting with the baby. "Hey you little _thing_ you…" really stuck out to me from 11x08. It's something I think they could have expanded on in cannon if they wanted to.**

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><p>"Jackson, you totally just did everything without asking me…with <em>her<em>."

"Ok, April, I know what I did all day, yesterday. I thought I was helping." He put a bowl of spaghetti in front of her, and sat down in front of his own to eat.

"How did you think that was helping? We had this conversation. We were going to start our own memories, our own traditions. That green crib is so ugly. When I left Moline, I thought I left that crib, too. And all the other silly traditions she and my sisters expect everyone to do. I thought I got away from it all. When Owen showed up on that farm, he saved me from that life again and then she comes here and wins you over with those cheesy compliments on your eyes and, I just can't believe you had that crib shipped I…" She started crying.

"Alright April, I get it. Just be quiet a minute and eat," he stabbed a meatball with his fork. "Geez, your hormones lately, I swear."

"Oh, you wanna talk about who's responsible for my hormones, right now?" April scoffed. "These are good."She wiped tears from her eyes, and gestured with her fork toward a meatball, pouting.

"Thank you." Jackson smirked.

"Don't look at me like that, you're still on my list. You decorated a whole nursery without asking my opinion. It's my first baby too, you know. Just because I have nephews doesn't mean I don't want to decorate my own kids' nursery. Now he's gonna think that all I did was carry him!"

Jackson stopped chewing, mouth full and stared at his wife. She dropped her fork, realizing her mistake, and stood up from the table heading to their bedroom as fast as her slight waddle would allow.

"Babe, I brought your spaghetti. You wanna talk about what you just spilled out there?" Jackson knocked, but didn't wait for an answer to enter.

"No! I can't believe you got me so worked up I told you the sex." April took a her bowl from Jackson, twirling a forkful of noodles.

"_I_ worked you up so much? April, come on!"

"We've talked about this, Jackson! We agreed we were going to do everything together!"

Jackson threw up his hands. "You've been busy April! I thought I was helping. I asked your mom for help. Plus, we also _agreed _not to find out the sex of the baby. You know my argument for finding out was because it would help me bond with the baby. But waiting was important to you, so..."

"…Not my fault." April shook her head vigorously, mouth full of spaghetti. "Stephanie told me. Rookie mistake! I told her not to!" Her eyes widened.

"I can't believe you let Stephanie do your ultrasound."

April shrugged. "She has a lot to learn. I can't believe you went baby shopping with my mom."

Jackson shrugged. "I have a lot to learn."

"Wait, babe. What do you mean help you bond with the baby?" But she knew. If she was honest with herself, she knew. He called April's bump "the little thing" "the bump," even "our baby," but despite the fact that April talked directly to her baby everyday, she caught her husband very deliberately not doing the same.

"I just, worry…one of us has to worry. April."

"But why Jackson, he's fine." April rubbed her belly with one hand and held out a forkful of spaghetti to her husband with the other.

"He, huh?" Jackson grinned.

She nodded. "He. There's a little baby Jackson cooking in side of me."

Jackson laughed nervously, watching April rub her belly. "He's growing fine, I checked the numbers myself, Jackson. Come on, daddy. Relax, say hi. He needs to hear you, more."

He sighed, reluctantly putting his hand on April's bump. "Hi buddy," he cleared his throat, embarrassed. April nodded him on, encouragingly. "It's your daddy. How are you doing in there? Sorry I haven't been…but I really can't wait to meet you." Suddenly April gasped. "What…what's wrong?"

"Nothing. Nothing's wrong babe. Just put your hand riiight here. And keep talking." She repositioned his hand, beaming.

"Your mama, she's a little bit crazy, but she's taking such good care of you. Especially with all that yoga in the morning. Yeah, daddy really likes watching that yoga."

Jackson smiled up at his wife, who blushed. "Baaabe."

"She loves us so much, but not as much as we love her. We love her so much, sometimes it's hard for us to tell her just how much we love her, right buddy?" Suddenly Jackson felt his son kick and looked up at April, amazed. Dinner, and all the arguments that came with it were instantly forgotten for the night.


	2. Man Day

**The prompt was April noticing that Jackson and her son were very much alike in some ways. I got a little carried away. I got the idea to fill this request by starting with a scene where April comes home to a quietish house and finds clues to her boys' day lying around. It turned into this.**

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><p>April shook her head as she walked into her apartment after work, almost tripping on two identical pairs of black dress shoes, one adult size set and one kid size. "Typical boys," she thought, rolling her eyes and placing them behind the door. It was at least a more acceptable spot, in the moment.<p>

She sighed when she realized the TV. in the living room was on. A Celtics commentator was blaring post-game analysis into an empty room. Two silk blue ties, another father and son set, were carelessly thrown over either arm of Jackson's favorite recliner. "Boys?" No reply.

She was surprised she didn't find a trail of dress clothes leading into the kitchen. It was career day at preschool today, and Jackson had opted to take off for the occasion, though he had been much happier to do so before he realized that the mommy mandated outfit for it was a suit to match his son's. He hated wearing suits. He was more of a sweatshirt guy. If daddy complained, so did Julian, but April had insisted.

"Today you are representing The Avery Foundation and Grey-Sloan Memorial together. You have to look nice."

"But sweetheart," Jackson tried, giving his best attempt at sparkly eyes. "Don't you think it will be more fun for the kids if we wear our scrubs and lab coats?"

"Yeah mommy, lab coats!" her three-year-old had tried, eying his dad and trying to match his pleading expression. April had marveled at just how close he'd come to nailing it.

"Yes. I think those would be fun to show your class, little man. That's why I put both sets in daddy's bag, along with his stethoscope. But you will just show people."

"Stefoscope! Cool! Can I listen to your heart daddy? I will teach my class how you teached me!"

"Sure, little man." Jackson smiled at his son and busied himself with getting two bowls out of the cupboard. April frantically searched the counter for her trauma certification workshop paperwork. She was doing a trauma simulation today in skills lab, it was her favorite day of the year. Jackson would not give up though. "But babe, it's a public preschool. All the kids' parents will be dressed up in firefighter gear and police uniforms and stuff…I should wear…"

"You will be dressed like an Avery!" April said, cheerfully, letting out a breath of relief when she found her paperwork. "You both will be."

"Come on, mommy…" Jackson tried.

"It's not negotiable, Jackson. There are going to be plenty of daddies there in suits and ties." April already had a picture of Jackson and Julian in their matching scrubs and lab coats from this past Halloween, but she thought this would be the perfect occasion for her son to break in his new suit. He was going to be attending a foundation event for the first time in December, and she wanted him to break it in at a more casual occasion, so he didn't develop her husband's habit of freaking out every time he saw a suit. Career day was the perfect opportunity, but she had passed out before Jackson got home the night before, so she didn't have the chance to warn him.

It might have seemed silly or a little obsessive to people, especially Jackson. She knew he would give her the "you're crazy" eye roll when she finally got the chance to explain her reasoning to him. But the fact of the matter was that, with Harper dead, the whole family was going to have to step up a lot more when it came to foundation stuff. Catherine hadn't handed over the foundation to her son yet, but she'd hinted to April that she wasn't planning on giving up OR time soon. She said that the foundation needed two dedicated hearts and minds behind it. So whether she stepped up or her husband did, April had a feeling that in a few years the family would be relocating. And that she and Jackson would have to get used to spending a lot more time out of scrubs. So maybe she was subconsciously getting Jackson ready.

April wanted to cherish as much time as she could in her own scrubs, though. She didn't need as much coaxing to get involved in foundation stuff. So, she hadn't thought twice about it when Jackson volunteered for career day, even though she was usually very selfish about spending every second she could with her son, just being a mommy. And there was also no way she was going to miss trauma certification day. No way at all.

Jackson groaned and rolled his eyes, opening a box of Trix and pouring two bowls as a very excited Julian looked on. "You can't make waffles or something?" April had asked, kissing both her boys on the forehead and grabbing her keys.

"We are wearing the suits, mommy. You don't get to hijack every aspect of man day. But you really do need to come back here and give us proper kisses goodbye, please."

"I like man day!" Julian nodded enthusiastically at his mom after he took his first ever bite of Trix. "This you fave ce-real daddy?"

"It sure is, bud. Nothin' beats it sometimes." Jackson shook his head back and forth for emphasis.

"Yeah. Nothin' beats it." Julian mimicked his dad's head shake, cracking April up.

"Man day huh?" April smirked, reluctantly letting Jackson pull her into his arms for a kiss.

"Man day." Jackson nodded at her, smiling, and kissed her. It was a kiss that had made April late for work many times before. But she couldn't linger today.

"Alright men, will you please at least share a banana after you indulge in that cavity fest?"

"Absolutely mama. And we will brush our teeth extra, too."

"Thank you. Have fun Jul." She kissed his cheek and tousled his little mop of curls, but he ignored her, distracted by his cereal.

"Hey, give me a real goodbye kiss, J!"

He shook his head. "Men don't kiss they mommy."

"That's not true, little man. I kiss my mom all the time and tell her how much I love her." Jackson lied, reminding himself to do it more, at least the last part.

"Fine!" Julian relented, giving April a milky wet kiss on the lips. "I love you more than spaceships mama!"

"Wow! More than spaceships? That's a good one, J! Those are all over your room."

April thought a second, trying to come up with a good response for the game they played every morning. She really wished she hadn't started this. Sometimes, it was so hard to think of something that didn't make Julian groan and say "You said that yes-erday, mom."

"I love you more than I love Oreos."

She knew it was lame, but she was running late. And it actually did put a huge smile on her son's face.

"Wow! That's you fave cookie mama!" he giggled.

"You beat it by far, no contest Julian Avery. Have the best man day with your dad." She gave him one last kiss and turned to leave.

"I love you more than I love suits, April."

She scoffed at her husband's lame last attempt to change her mind."I love you most when you're wearing one, Jackson. Happy man day."

"Happy trauma certification day."

April laughed to herself, remembering her morning as she read the note accompanying the dinner her boys left out for her. _"We love you more than pizza bagels, mom. Hope your day was as good as ours, J." _ The J was scribbled in three-year-old handwriting. One sufficed, it was a message from them both.

She smiled at the disregarded empty glasses of milk on the kitchen table, with spoons inside of them, next to her own full glass and large stack. Her husband had the weirdest Oreo-eating technique she'd ever seen in her life. He would dunk half the cookie in milk, bite it, and throw the remaining half inside of his glass. He'd sip in between, avoiding the cookie chunks, and when the glass was empty, he'd eat the soggy cookie mess with a spoon. Sometimes, he fed it to her, and it was delicious, but way too much work. She was a straight dunk and bite it girl herself.

She had never let Jackson teach Julian his way before, dreading the spills it would cause. But she guessed he'd learned today, and laughed to herself thinking of her son mimicking his dad in every way, down to the way he ate an Oreo. There better be lots of pictures on Jackson's Iphone somewhere.

She put her pizza bagel, complete with a heart attack (or "man" she supposed) sized portion of cheese and pepperoni in the oven to reheat it, and went to go find her boys. It was still fairly early, just 7:30, and she had expected to be welcomed home by the sight of spaceships launching in her living room, and a little boy not quite ready for his day to end.

But she found them sprawled out on her bed, dead asleep in matching basketball jerseys and Nike sneakers. April noticed they were a new color and shook her head. The last thing either of them needed was a new pair of Nikes. But that Avery obsession was engrained in her son's head way before today. There was no controlling that.

Both of them had their two hands above their heads as they slept silently. The only sound in the room was "The Incredibles" movie playing low on the TV. "Wake up, sleepyheads!" she said, kissing them both on the cheek. Julian slept in his bedroom every night, that was the rule, man day or not.

They both smiled and gave a happy sort of grunt at the sound of her voice.

"April…"

"Mommy…"

"J…" She directed it towards her son, but they both replied, still half asleep.

"What?"

"Little J…come on, time for jammies and bed. Don't you want jammies? So much more comfy than Nikes, come on."

April got up to scoop her son out of the bed, but her rustling awoke both of them more completely. Despite the mistake that might make bedtime a thousand times more challenging than she'd hoped it would be, she felt so lucky when the two pairs of green eyes she loved the most suddenly focused on her, alert. She lifted Julian into her arms when he gave her his "wide awake" smile.

"Hi mama! Miss Crabtree loved my daddy!"

"Oh she did! I'm not surprised at all buddy." It was the truth. April already knew Miss Crabtree loved Jackson from the blatant frown that spread across her face whenever it was April who came to pick up Julian from school. But the frown wasn't as fun to see as the scowl that popped up for a split second when both of them came together.

One day Miss Crabtree saw Jackson smack his wife's ass for whispering something fresh in his ear, and April had never seen anyone turn so red with rage and then recover as quickly as Jenn Crabtree did when Jackson said hello.

April felt bad for the woman, really. Lusting after another woman's husband was a fruitless endeavor. She had learned that with Derek Shepherd, and hoped for Miss Crabtree's sake she found a more satisfying hobby, soon. Although, if her last name was "Crabtree" April supposed she'd be desperate for a marriage, too. But she was April Avery now, and no other woman was going to take that away."Tell me all about man day Julian, what did you Avery men do today?"

"My dad let me tell my class what he dos. I telled 'bout Avee-ry Found and owning hosital and that he fix nosies and faces and helps when peoples are burned. I didn't tell 'bout the butts, though, mom." Julian shook his head back and forth and Jackson mimicked him, with a straight face.

April cracked up, more at her husband than her son's statement. "Good job, bud! The butts are an Avery family secret." Julian was very interested in his dad's job, and asked for a detailed account of his day everyday. Usually Jackson found a way make even paperwork sound important and exciting, but on one particularly bad day all he had for his son was "Oh daddy used a big machine to suck fat out of a lot of ladies' butts today." Little man never forgot it.

April didn't mind that Jackson did liposuction. He told her it made him appreciate her body even more, and made her promise never to get it. It was the easiest promise she'd ever made in her life, though she did sometimes second guess it when she spent too much time in the mirror looking at the stretch marks Julian had given her as a souvenir of pregnancy. Jackson knew they made her self-conscious though, so he loved on them a little extra all the time.

"Then we take the stupid suits off and goed to the store and buyed new sneaks. Blue like midnight and silve, mama. Same as daddy."

"I see." April raised her eyebrows at Jackson, who just gave her a guilty shrug.

"Then we play baskee-ball and do lotta runnin. Dad put me on his sholdee an' I made a man baskee, first time mom!"

"That's what you called it? A man's basket?" Again, Jackson just gave a guilty shrug. "Oh! I'm gonna beat you one-on-one so bad one day, buddy! I don't care if you taught me how to play. I can still beat you."

"And I stand up to make pee-pee. Dad teached me."

"Well that's important bud, I'm glad."

Julian shrugged. "Then we jus' come home, do science ex-pierment, make pizza wit lotta roni on it, drink root beer, eated Oreos wit spoon, watch baskee-ball, gotted bored 'cause Celts gettin' a smack, watch Incredbles, fall sleep, you comed home."

"Oh that's all huh? Boring day?"

"No the best mama." Julian laughed.

"Except we missed you." Jackson offered. A lame consolation prize.

"Missed me? On man day?"

"Oh yeah, 'acause we wondied how you was to-day bein' teacher. Like Miss Crabtree ma?" Julian yawned and Jackson took him from April.

"Not exactly bud."

"I'll get him down babe, you must be hungry, go eat. We gotta pick our new story anyway bud, right? What about…"

"Buzz Lightyear." They said, at the same time and April grinned, yet again amazed at how tight their bond was. She had been worried when she was pregnant, and even for a little while when Julian was an infant, as she watched Jackson struggle to get the hang of parenthood. But now they finished each others sentences, and even though Julian was only three, Jackson talked about him like he was just a best friend at times.

"Oh, J will love this, gotta get it!" he'd say, when they passed a space puzzle in a toy store. Julian said the same thing every time he saw a Nike swoosh, except April never did buy venture into sneaker buying, afraid to get the wrong thing.

And they had the same mannerisms. And sometimes, they'd both start laughing out of nowhere at dinner when nothing funny had happened at all. April rolled her eyes at a lot of it as a joke, but the truth was, she loved every minute of watching her husband teach her son how to be just like him. There was no one else in the world she'd want him to be like. But sometimes, she did get a little lonely, being the only girl.

"MMM gimme a bite!" Jackson said, coming in from putting Julian to bed and straddling April, who sat on the couch eating Oreos.

She moved the cookie she was holding away from his grasp. "No way, you had a stack of God knows how many of your own, and left me the mess to clean up!"

Jackson gave her yet another guilty grin. "Oh yeah, sorry. I was gonna clean it. But then we fell asleep. You were right, he sure made a mess learning my way. But you won't even give me a nibble?" Jackson whispered into April's ear and placed tiny kisses down her neck.

"Nooope. But man day way good, daddy?"

"The best, mama." Jackson grinned earnestly.

"Miss Crabtree try to grab your ass?"

"Couldn't if she wanted to. Sat in the back, didn't make small talk, went last so he'd be excited through the whole thing, and we bolted out of there for the Nike store as soon as the job was done. Efficiency is the key to being an Avery, April." Jackson still found comfort in mocking Harperisms, even though the old man was dead.

"Good. I guess that earns you a kiss." She pecked his lips.

"Not a cookie though, huh?"

"Nope. I was very lonely on man day."

"Certification not go well? Cookies keeping you company?"

"Nah, it went fine. That wasn't the annoying part." Jackson gave her a questioning look, urging her to continue. "I thought I'd be lonely today. Then I puked out of nowhere before the lab…" Jackson wrinkled his nose at his wife, still clueless. "I kept puking today, and you know how I can't focus lately and got dizzy the other night…"

"Yeah, so…" Jackson raised an eyebrow.

April sighed. "So. I thought I'd be lonely today…and I did miss you, but it's gonna be pretty impossible for me to be lonely for the next 36 weeks because there's a baby keeping me company, Jackson. I'm pregnant."


	3. The Rule

**So the prompt for this was pretty detailed and AWESOME. Pretty much, without giving anything away, this is part 2 of Man Day and everything in italics is filling the prompt. My mind is weird though so I got to it a weird way. It's pretty M I guess. I never know what to call smut. **

**Also, just to be clear...unless I say it's a continuation, the idea is that most of these can be their own separate worlds. Although I do revisit worlds often. But the point is even though it cooouuuld read like one story, the first "chapter" should be considered a separate world from this Man Day world. Thoughts welcome, as always. And so is a new title for this story. It's boring but I couldn't think of another one. Please don't hesitate to tell me if you think of one. If I like what you send, I'll change it. **

**PS: I don't have a kid. So I tried to look up how to talk to a three-year-old about this, or what they might even say they saw...but I might have gotten it totally wrong.  
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**PPS: I've added a little bit to this. I had to. **

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><p>"Pregnant, huh?" There was suddenly a gleam in Jackson's eye. He smiled at his wife and stood up so he was in front of her. April blushed from her spot on the couch, biting her lip.<p>

"What?"

"I just…I missed my woman on man day."

"Jackson, I'm not your woman," she huffed.

"Oh come on. You know I didn't mean it that way. I missed you today. Even though I had fun with little man."

"I know. I'm sorry. Just, the hormones."

"Did I ever tell you how sexy I think you are when you're pregnant?" He kissed her and slowly slid his fingertips down the sides of her body, stopping at the waistband of her scrubs.

One of the millions of little reasons that April loved her husband was that he always found a way to ask permission, even though 99.5 percent of the time the answer was yes. That's why waiting had been so important to April. So that sex with her husband always felt special to her, so that it never felt boring, or like a chore. Even though she hadn't waited, it always felt special with Jackson, she always wanted him.

She nodded at him, smiling and he slid her scrubs over her ass. April positioned herself on the couch so she was laying horizontal, Jackson towering over her. "Only everyday for a year and a half since we've been trying again, honey." She giggled and pulled his shirt off, tracing a finger slowly up the center of his body, from his bellybutton to his lips. "Hi," she whispered, pausing her finger at the center of his mouth.

Jackson put her finger in his mouth, sucking on it slowly, eliciting a tiny squeak. That was one of the million reasons Jackson loved making love to his wife. It was never just sex to her. Nothing was just foreplay. Every second mattered, and she was totally present for each one.

"Hi," he whispered back, leaning down to kiss her and easing her scrub top over her head. He immediately reached behind her back to unclasp her bra, but she stopped him.

"Slow down, baby. Stay awhile. Unless you have somewhere better to…"

Jackson shook his head vigorously, framing her face with his hands and kissing her, tongue carefully exploring her mouth. "No, I'm sorry. There's nowhere else I want to be. Ever. Always. I think we should move to somewhere a little more comfortable though, don't you?"

April nodded eagerly, following Jackson off of the couch. She unbuttoned his jeans and slid them down his body before wrapping her arms around his neck and herself around his torso so he could carry her to the bedroom.

They didn't stop kissing all the way there, though Jackson reminded her to stay quiet as they passed Julian's room, placing a finger over her lips. She just giggled and put it in her mouth.

"There, so much better," Jackson slowly lowered his wife down to the bed and quickly fumbled for the remote to turn off the ending credits of "The Incredibles." April tried to slide herself under the covers but he stopped her, shaking his head. "I want to see all of you, tonight."

He began exploring her with his mouth, taking extra care around at her stomach. "Hi little embryo thing," he said, kissing a circle around her belly button.

April opened her eyes to smack his head. "Hey! The rule is extra relevant when I'm pregnant." The rule. No talking about children once underwear is visible. It was part of the reason they still had a healthy sex life. Of course they cared for him if he needed it, but Julian's name was never spoken during foreplay, and definitely not beyond.

April was secretly thrilled though. The last time she was pregnant it took Jackson a very long time to acknowledge that anything was changing, never mind that there was a little person growing inside of her. Just the fact that he was directly addressing her belly, even calling the baby an embryo for now, was a big deal. He was officially comfortable being a daddy.

He slid her panties off and kissed up her leg, grinning and enjoying April's gasps of pleasure. They got quieter as she got more excited. Sometimes, she reached a point where she couldn't even make noise. He stopped right before he reached the spot she wanted him at, though, hovering over her again and finally unclasping her bra.

Jackson was a boob man. He loved his wife's breasts and sometimes spent so much time up there exploring, sucking, kissing, and squeezing that April, who rarely spoke any comprehensible words during sex, would stop to remind him that she had other equally sexy body parts that he was allowed to visit.

But after he threw her bra on the floor, even though she leaned on her elbows, and guided him in a certain direction, hinting at what she wanted, he stopped right before he took one in his mouth, laughing hysterically against her chest. "Jackson, what the heck…why are you…"

"Sorry, I'm not…I ruined the mood but I can…" He lifted his head and tried to regain his composure, but failed, bursting with laughter again.

"Why are my boobs suddenly funny to you, Jackson?" April pouted. Her husband had helped her gain more confidence in her body in the four years they'd been married, but sometimes she still struggled with body image issues. Jackson had never hysterically laughed during sex before. He hardly even laughed from pleasure, really. His signature sound was somewhere between a moan and a growl, April had decided. His reaction now, mixed with her pregnancy hormones was confusing her.

"They're not April. They're perfect. You know I love them. Just…" He chuckled again. "Can I just break the rule this one time, babe? Little man forgot to tell you another very memorable part of his day. And you just told me you're pregnant and I remembered it and…"

"Sure, by all means, reminisce about man day in the middle of sex, Jackson." April rolled her eyes and flopped against her pillows.

Jackson stayed where he was. He pecked her lips and ran his fingers through her soft red curls. "Kelsey's mom came to career day today with her newborn baby."

"Good for Brenda!" April exclaimed, knowing the woman was a stay-at-home mom.

"Yeah, and she sat in the back, too. And she warned me that she was probably going to need to breastfeed."

"Oh, Jackson! You didn't make her move, did you?"

"Of course not! We teach him stuff. I know that. It scared other dads away, though. But give me some credit, April."

She kissed him. "Fine, sorry babe, go on."

"So she did. Have to breastfeed. While this crazy boring plumber guy was up. You know J, he was looking all around, trying to find something that interested him, and he picked the breastfeeding mother. He would not stop staring.

"So you reminded him of the rule, right?"

"Of course I did, April."

_"Remember the rule bud, for when you're curious about something?" Jackson refocused his son, noticing him staring about three seconds too long._

_"Oh yeah, sorry dad. It OK to ask you 'bout what you baby doin' Miss Barron?"_

_ "Good job, bud, very respectful." _

_ "Oh yeah sure if it's…"_

_ "It's fine. We encourage him to ask people that, rather than stare or ask us right in front of them. Unless he feels scared." Jackson assured the woman, and her face relaxed instantly. _

_ "Ahh I see. Well this is baby Kristina, and she's eating because my…" _

_ Brenda looked to Jackson for the proper terminology to teach his son. "Breast," he helped. _

_ "Right, my breast has milk for her to drink. And she's too little to chew food."_

_ "How it comes out?" Mrs. Barron blushed, clearly not comfortable with saying the word nipple to someone else's child. Jackson and April were very truthful with Julian, about pretty much everything, especially concerning the human body, being that they were doctors. It baffled them that most adults were hesitant to use proper terminology in front of their children. _

_ "Well the baby is sucking on her nipple, to get it to come out, bud." Jackson caught Miss Crabtree tuning in to the conversation from the corner of the room. _

_ "I doed that when I was a baby too, dad?"_

_ "Yeah you did, bud. For quite awhile actually. Mama loved that time with you." Julian smiled, proud. _

_ "It tastied yummy." He nodded his head affirmatively at his dad and the other adults in the room who had taken an interest in the conversation. Julian Avery certainly thrived on attention. _

_ "You don't remember that, silly." Jackson shook his head, amused. _

_ "You drinked mama's milk too, dad!" He raised his voice slightly, getting excited. _

_ "Shhh! No I don't little man, mommies only make that for as long as the baby needs it." _

_ "But you was doin' that to mommy yeser-day. Drinkin' her milk. I sawed. Afore I comed in you room 'cause scary dream!" Jackson put his head in his hands as half the room, including Jenn Crabtree, smirked and held back laughter. Julian hadn't exactly complied with his dad's request to talk quietly. He wasn't necessarily too embarrassed by the fact that everyone knew he had sex two nights ago (Julian's timeline had been a little off). What mortified Jackson more was that a group of adults now thought he and his wife didn't take enough care to lock the door before indulging in private time. _

Jackson finished telling his story to April, all the while running his fingers through her hair. "Oh God, Jackson! We have to stop having sex."

He smirked at her. "Ha! That's your solution, huh?"

"We have way too much sex, we can just do it on lunch breaks when we have the same shift or…"

He raised his eyebrows. "Too much sex? Are you the same woman who begged me to make her come every single day of marriage back on our honeymoon?"

April bit her lip. She did remember making that request sometime during the two days they spent in bed together, making up for lost time. And she'd meant it. April loved sex, and Jackson needed it often, which was fine with her. Her little fling (or whatever it had been) with her husband before they were married had only given her a taste of what she was missing, holding on to her virginity for so long. Married sex with Jackson was so much different, so much better. He took his time now, for the most part.

Of course, her request had been pretty unrealistic, especially after Julian was born. But they both put in an effort to have as much sex as possible, and they didn't do too badly. There was no such thing as a dry spell in the Avery household, except when doctors' orders demanded it.

"Well what do you suggest, then?"

Jackson kissed her forehead, laughing. "How about you let me get up and lock that door right now, sweetheart?"

"But he has nightmares sometimes! What if he needs us?" There was panic in her eyes. April was actually the stricter of the two parents, surprisingly. While they both ran a tight but fun ship, Jackson's own experience with harsh discipline in his childhood affected his parenting style. Though he wasn't afraid to call a time out every once in awhile, he liked being the "fun" parent a lot more. Especially because he really did consider April and Julian his two best friends. He never wanted his son to fear him.

It was April's rule that Julian was never allowed to spend a night sleeping in their bed. Cuddles and naps were acceptable, but she was adamant about having a space that was pretty much just for her and her husband. Even so, April hated locks. She never wanted her son to feel like he wasn't allowed to enter a room in the apartment. So, she refused to let Jackson lock any doors, even during sex.

"Little man is capable of knocking on a door and making himself heard!" Jackson grinned. He certainly learned that from experience this morning. "So I'm just gonna…" He pointed to the door. "Yeah? And we'll save the kitchen for days when we're off and he's in school, OK?" April nodded reluctantly and visibly winced. She loved it when her husband came home from work late at night and had his way with her on the kitchen counter.

"Now where were we?" Jackson eyed April's chest hungrily, assuming position above her again. He almost had her nipple in his mouth, finally, but she stopped him. "Babe, finish the story, you didn't yell at him, did you? That's totally our fault."

"_Let's take a little walk, Jul, sound good?" His son nodded, slightly confused by the reaction of the adults in the room. Jackson looked over and saw Jenn Crabtree was beet red and scowling. _

"_We'll be right back," Jackson assured the woman, purposely patting her shoulder just to be entertained by watching her face change from dark red to pale white. _

"_So what did you see the other night, little dude? Lay it on me." Jackson whispered to Julian, heading outside of the school toward a bench. _

"_I forgotted to knock like mama say on you bedroom door." Julian mumbled, turning head away from his dad and looking down at the ground with a frown. He kicked his dress shoes against the dark blue bench. _

"_Hey, it's OK bud, we all forget sometimes." Jackson gave Julian's light brown curls a reassuring pat. "You can tell me what you saw so we can talk about it. I'm not mad."_

"Oh God Jackson, you had to have a sex talk with our three year old because we have too much sex."

Jackson chuckled. "Well kinda, but just listen."

"_You was on top of my mommy, no covering,." Julian shook his head back and forth fast. Jackson winced. He'd hoped his dislike of covers during sex would never come back to bite him. Too late for that. It was a shame though; it had taken April so long to get to the point where she was comfortable letting him see all of her at once when they made love. _

"_You was doin' like the baby on mama's nips and she screamed 'ow, God ow ow' you hurted her dad?" Jackson remembered that night well, because even though he knew he pleased her all the time, it was a rare feat to get April Avery to call on God in the bedroom. He grinned absentmindedly getting lost in the memory, but snapped back to reality when he saw his son looked scared. _

"_No bud, I promise you I will never hurt your mommy. We were uhhhh…" He hadn't exactly thought this conversation through that far, which was proving to be a problem. What could he say? Wrestling? But he knew they weren't even completely naked when Julian actually did knock and tell them about the nightmare, because he'd climbed out of bed and dealt with it, since his boxers were still on. "Kissing. I was kissing her, bud…" More like sucking, maybe a little biting, but Jackson figured if he was going to tell the truth he'd better keep it as "G" as possible. "Remember when mommy and daddy showed you pictures of our wedding?" Julian nodded. "Well when mommies and daddies do that they're allowed to have private time and kiss each other wherever they want. But only mommies and daddies do that."  
><em>

_"Why she screamed 'ow' if she not hurted dad?"_

_"Oh ummm..." He definitely wasn't prepared for that question. "Uhhh daddy had stubbly." It sounded very dirty coming out of his mouth, but it made Julian laugh. High pitched little giggles that instantly made Jackson's bad days better, and his good ones so much sweeter. "She was saying that 'cause it tickled." She was actually saying "Oh God, oh, oh oh oh my God..." He even remembered getting a "Don't stop," out of her. Thankfully, it didn't seem like Julian had paid that much attention to what his dad's fingers were doing, that night. Not that it was easy to see, his body was on top of April's. And his face was clean-shaven.  
><em>

_"Mama don't like your stubbly dad." Julian was still giggling. _

_"I know. Which is why I try to remember to shave really well, but we all forget sometimes, J." _

_"Yeah. I'm gonna get stubbly when I'm growed up, dad?" _

_Jackson shrugged. "Probably. It might not grow in so great, though. That's why your mama doesn't like mine." _

_"She gon' not like mine?" _

_"No bud! She loves you so much. She'll always love everything about you, and me. She doesn't mind my stubbly that much. I just shave to make her happy. I like to make your mama happy." Jackson smiled to himself quickly. The whole point of this particular conversation was to distract Julian from asking more questions about just how much Jackson loved to make April happy, though. _

_"Me too. I like makin' mama happy." Julian nodded, still kicking his feet. "She's bein' teacher today. She telled me afore prayers." _

_"I know. I wonder how she's doing today. Do you want to send her a picture of us in our suits and ask her how her day is going?"  
><em>

_"Yeah! That will make her so happy, dad. Why she want us to wear these stupid things?" _

_"We do look handsome bud. Ready? C'mon." He picked up his son and took out his phone to take a selfie. "One, two, three." _

_"Cheeeeeesssseeeeeeeeee!" Jackson snapped the picture, and gave his son a quick kiss on the cheek. "Dad, you pro-mise mommy didn't get hurted?" _

"_She wasn't hurt. I promise." Jackson was usually pleased about how sweet and caring his son was. Usually. But because sex was the topic they were fumbling around, and because he knew April was more than fine that night, he wished, just this once, Julian cared a little less. Obviously, he needed a little more distracting. "Hey, we gotta get back soon. Do you wanna be the one to tell everyone about daddy's job? You know a lot about it! Tell me what you know." They started walking toward the classroom.  
><em>

"_I knows ever-thing. You fixes nosies and faces and mommy sometime help you wit burned peoples." _

"_That's right bud, you got in covered." _

"_Oh and Avery Found. And we all owns a hosital." It was true. April now owned a part of the Harper Avery Foundation, and Julian would as soon as he was old enough, so they all pretty much had a stake in that 51% of Grey-Sloan by default. "But no tellin' about the butts." Julian whispered to his dad, cracking Jackson up. _

"_You keep that promise and we'll go get new matching Nikes to celebrate Man Day. They have new ones called Comets, J…midnight blue like the bench and silver…like stars in space, isn't that cool?" _

"_Yeah! I love space dad! It's a deal!" Jackson put out his fist for Julian to bump right before they re-entered his classroom. He gave Miss Crabtree a huge smile as he walked back to his seat. _

"Ugh! You willingly touched that woman?"

"That's what you're focused on in this whole story? I was just having a little fun. You know it entertains you, too. I paused sex because I thought you were worried about me telling J what we were doing."

April rolled her eyes. "Nooo! _I _paused sex because you were laughing at my boobs."

"April, I wasn't laughing at your boobs."

"You were about to…." April let her sentence trail off, blushing. She loved sex, but hated dirty talking. She let Jackson handle that. "You looked at my boobs, and then you started laughing."

"I was about to suck your nipple," Jackson eyed his wife coyly, finishing the middle of her sentence for her. "And then it evoked a memory involving our son that I thought you would appreciate."

"A memory involving another woman's nipples." April huffed.

"Are you seriously mad? I didn't even see her nipples, she was feeding the baby."

"I'm more mad about Crabtree."

Jackson let out a frustrated breath. "Well you know that was nothing so…"

"The only memories my boobs should evoke for you are other memories of my boobs." April crossed her arms and covered her chest, incredulous.

"They do! Trust me. I have very clear memories of spending quality time with your tits, April. And apparently so does our son." He tried to hold his laughter in, but couldn't do it. He fell back against the pillows next to April, hysterical. She smacked his shoulder, hard. "Ow!"

"It's not funny!"

"It's kinda funny, April. He's fine. Once I assured him you weren't hurt he forgot about it."

"Whatever, Jackson. I'm not in the mood anymore. Goodnight, babe." April turned on her side.

"No, come on babe. I'm sorry." He wrapped his arms around her, kissing her neck. "We have an embryo to celebrate."

"There you go again, breaking the rule."

"Sorry! Sorry! I missed you so much today. Just…tell me what you wanted to do, before I hit pause."

He whispered in her ear, sending a chill down her spine. She pushed him back against the pillows, aggressively. "Oh that ship has sailed buddy. I think, if you wanna get any tonight the new rule is you stay quiet. You've done enough talking, tonight."

Jackson smirked. "Oh, you're gonna do all the talking, huh?"

"Maybe I am!" April pulled his boxers off, throwing them on the floor, and as she straddled him, Jackson hoped his son was having sweet dreams; because if April was the only one allowed to talk tonight, he was going to make sure she was calling on Jesus.


	4. I Got You (Broken)

**I must admit this wasn't a prompt. Sometimes, I get a story idea that's just begging to be written, and I have to do it. I decided to include it in this project because it is a Julian story. Also, while it has a fluffy ending, it's not really fluffy, in my opinion. It's a little smutty, and very dark. I purposefully included very little history, but even the little bit was interesting to explore. To the Anon who wrote about an Avery spinoff a few prompts ago, don't be ashamed. If that happened, my life would be complete. Unfortunately, no matter how low I set my expectations, Shondaland never seems to deliver with Japril. So, I won't be holding my breath for it. But that's why we have fic, right? Anyway, I hope you like, please review and all that good stuff!**

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><p><em>"What do you mean you might not do your fellowship at all, Jason? You have a cardiothoracic fellowship set up for you on a silver platter at Mass Gen! I swear, Harper gives you everything, and instead of using it as an opportunity to prove yourself, to earn respect, you just spit on your name. All the time! I'm sick of it! Not doing your fellowship? Ha! How do you plan on supporting your son then, Jason? That money in your trust is contingent on…" <em>

_ "A career in medicine. I'm well aware, Catherine! You think you're sick? I'm sick! Of all of this. Of you! Of Harper! Of being an Avery!" _

_ "Psssh…well you can't escape your name, sorry to inform you."_

_ Four year old Jackson listened to his parents fight from the bottom of the staircase in the mansion foyer. He didn't understand what was being said, but he panicked when his father sped into the room and started storming up the staircase, almost knocking his son over. _

_ "Daddy!" Jackson yelled, quiet enough that Catherine couldn't hear from the kitchen._

_ "Little man. What are you doing here? Get to bed." _

_ "I haved a bad dream, daddy." _

April really didn't want to do this right now; she had to get to work soon. She had a 12-hour overnight shift plus over-time to look forward to. If she had her way, she wouldn't be telling her son she was pregnant two hours before she had to go. She'd tell him tomorrow night, when they were both home and had time to answer all of the questions Julian would surely have.

But he'd noticed her little belly today, even though she was only four months and doing her best to cover it. The deal she'd made with Jackson was that they'd tell him at six months, or when he started asking questions. Jackson hadn't wanted to wait once she hit 12 weeks, but April knew pregnancy was easier for little kids to understand when their mom was further along. She'd hoped Julian would give them just a little bit more time to figure out how to tell him. No such luck.

She had also thought about lying to both her husband and her son for just a few more weeks. Contrary to what some people might believe, April knew how to lie. She didn't like doing it, or do it often, but marriage had taught her that there was nothing wrong with a white lie every so often.

"This is delicious babe," went a long way with Jackson when he attempted to make dinner. And so what if he cooked burgers a little rarer than she liked them? It wasn't his fault she grew up on a farm. She'd never explained to him that farmers, like cowboys, tended to prefer their beef as far away from mooing as possible.

"I know J, mama ate such a big lunch, right?" had worked well enough for her with Julian, today. She had eaten a lot. But in the end she had told Jackson he noticed, so there was no going back now.

"A baby in you belly?" Julian repeated what his dad had just told him as a question to her. She and Jackson stood in the middle of her living room; both were standing and cradling her belly as they shared the news with their son.

"Yeah Jul! You're gonna have a baby brother or sister! Isn't that exciting?"

"No!" he said, looking down at his bare feet, hanging off the edge of the couch. He wasn't angry. He sounded sad, and it broke April's heart.

"You look sad, little man, why are you sad? Mommy and daddy are so happy you're gonna be a big brother. You're gonna be the best at it, J!" Jackson tried.

"Not you ony kid no more."

"No bud, you aren't anymore. But that's a good thing. There's just one more person in our family to love." He tried again, but Julian started to cry. "Julian Harper, please use your words."

"You still be my best friend dad?"

April watched her husband's eyes go from green to gray after his son asked the question. She heard him swallow as he looked down at his shoes. she didn't know what was happening to him, but she reached over and put her arm around him. He was trembling.

_"You still be my best friend, dad?" Jackson asked his father, after Jason tucked him into bed again, that night. _

_ Jason was halfway to the door. "Goodnight Jackson, go to sleep." Goodnight, not even goodbye. _

Jackson took a deep breath and looked up, pulling himself together. April thought she saw a tear in his eye though.

"April, when do we shut the basketball game off?" He turned to his wife with a big fake smile.

She wrinkled her nose at him, confused. "Jackson, what are you talking about? Are you alright, honey?"

Julian was raising his hand, as if he was in school. Jackson pointed at his son. "If Rondo no scorin' ten points afore halftime."

"Ding ding ding, we have a winner." Julian's smile lit up his face, finally. April got the point and grinned, ready to play along. "Sweetheart, what's my favorite flavor of Gatorade?"

"Erm, grape?" she batted her eyelashes innocently. No one liked the nasty grape kind.

"Eww mommy, no one likesa grape kind. Red or blue dad, both our fave. 'Pending on the day."

"Exactly, J!"

"Alright mama, one more. You ready for this one? Jul is winning 2-0." April nodded her head and stretched out her shoulders, pretending like she was really trying to concentrate. "Chocolate fudge brownie ice cream, or mint chocolate chip?"

"Chocolate fudge?" She bit her lip and wrinkled her nose for effect. She fed him mint chocolate chip ice cream in bed every movie night, after Julian had fallen asleep.

"Oh mommy! Come on!" Julian slapped his forehead with his hand and shook his head in disbelief. "Oh course our fave is mint choco chip. Ony one we eat."

"Oh well, I like the peanut butter fudge kind so I just thought maybe…" April mumbled to the ground and put on a fake frown.

"See little man? Not even your mommy knows that stuff about me. Only you do. Only my best friend. Of course I'll still be your best friend, forever." Jackson grinned and winked at April, thanking her for playing along.

Julian giggled. Jackson's favorite sound in the world. "OK. Mama, I still be you best friend? Ask daddy quests."

"OK uhhhh….what's my fave animal…chickens or piggies, Jackson?"

"I got this. Chickens, obviously." Jackson rolled his eyes with fake confidence.

"Oh geez!" Julian giggled at the absurdity he was watching, amazed. "Piggies, daddy. Mommy haved a piggy named Jacksy on da farm in 'hio."

"Really babe, you had a pig named Jacksy? Weird."

April smirked, nodding. "One more, alright? Because mommy has to get ready for work." Julian nodded, visibly in better spirits.

"Cake or pie, Jackson." April looked at Jackson hopefully. He wrinkled his forehead in concentration.

"Uhhh…pie."

"No, no, no, dad!" their son groaned in disbelief. "Cake. 'Acause frosty's my mom's fave. And cuppies. She love ta lick all the frosty off the toppa cuppies."

"Oh yeah." Jackson smirked. He was well aware of all the things April liked to lick frosting off of. He could think of a lot of other places besides the top of cupcakes, too. His fingers, for starters. "Are you good buddy? You understand? We will always be your best friends, and maybe your brother or sister will be too."

Julian nodded and walked over to where his parents were standing and put his hand on his mom's belly. "Yeah. I uner-stand, dad!"

"Do you want to give the baby a kiss? Your dad does it all the time," April encouraged. Julian listened, kissing the center of her belly.

"You gon' get fatter and fatter mom?" April blushed, but nodded. She was self-conscious about her weight, even during pregnancy.

"It's not fat, bud. Mom has a little person growing inside of her. It's the baby growing," Jackson defended.

"OK, dad."

"We have a lot of months before he or she is born, little man. So we can talk about it as much as you want to, later. But right now I have to get ready for work."

"You good, bud? Why don't you go in your room for a little bit and play? I'll be there in a few minutes."

"I good, dad. Gonna get you jammas on?"

"Yeah bud, I am." Jackson turned and left the room quickly. April knew he was definitely not good. She made sure Julian was distracted in his room with toys before she ventured to her room.

"Babe?" She turned the knob, but the door was locked. "Jackson come on, I have to get to the hospital. I still need to get ready."

He opened the door and pushed her against the wall, holding her wrists. His eyes begged, but he didn't speak. April bit her lip, reluctant. She was very aware what was happening. Whenever Jackson felt emotions he didn't know how to handle, he turned to sex. He needed it, even. She understood that, and eventually helped him work through the emotions, most of the time. But this seemed big, and she had to get to work.

"Jackson. Tomorrow. I promise. I won't even sleep, I promise. And he'll be in school so you can do me all over the apartment. Anywhere, any way. For as long as you want…Well, until noon when we go get him." Jackson shook his head no. "Baby, just…talk. What's wrong? Tell me. I'm yours. I'm not going anywhere…Well except work in an hour but…you have me."

She knew that a lot of the time, when Jackson had this reaction, he needed to feel more than loved. He needed to feel connected. The sex wasn't so much about his pleasure in those moments, but hers. He needed to be sure his love could make her come. And she was now officially running late. He kissed her again, desperate.

"Ok, alright babe. Hurry." She'd never said that before and it broke her heart. But he understood. He undressed her and entered her and kissed her all over, frantic. His eyes were sad and she tried to give him what he needed. She exaggerated her whispered moans, very aware that her son was awake playing down the hall, even though the door was locked. She even talked to him a little bit, encouraging him with a few "yeah baby"'s. But even though he'd pleased her, she didn't come.

And apparently she wasn't good at faking it. "You didn't really come." He whispered, matter-of-fact. They had never had this conversation. April came often, and when she didn't, he didn't get upset about it. She had never felt the need to fake it. Jackson knew how the female body worked. When his wife didn't come during sex he simply caught his breath and made it his mission to make her come some other way, using his tongue, for example.

April saw that was his intention now, and framed his face with his hands, to refocus him. "Jackson, you pleased me OK? I promise…even if I didn't…you pleased me, babe. And I'm late, and also pregnant. You have to be very careful when you…and it's just not…"

"April it's not that hard. I know what not to do. I'll be careful." Something about him was still robotic. She was very worried all of the sudden. He took her in his mouth without asking permission again, and she tried to relax.

She came. But something still wasn't right. She peered at the clock on the cable box and knew she was going to be late, there was no use in pretending to try not to be, now.

"I'm gonna call Owen and let him know I'll be late. Then I'm gonna take a shower. You wanna take a shower with me, babe? I'd like that." Her tone was one she used with Julian when he was sick or cranky.

Jackson gave a tentative, but hopeful grin. "Really?"

April shrugged. "Might as well. Gonna be late anyway. It's been awhile since we visited the shower." She was worried her indifferent tone would upset him, but it didn't. Something was very wrong.

She was alright with lying to her son and husband occasionally, but not that great with anyone in a position of authority over her. So, she told Owen she had to "take care of Jackson" before she stepped in the shower. It wasn't a lie. She didn't say he was sick. There also wasn't much her mentor could say to her. She was never late, and she technically owned a piece of the hospital.

"Hi," April sat on the built-in bench when she entered the shower. Before she married Jackson, she had no idea showers could be this big.

He walked toward her and she stood up, allowing him to wrap his arms around her and give her a kiss. But she stopped him from going any further. "What happened, babe? Please let me in. Please!" She wiped a tear from his eye.

"I'm pretty sure I asked him that…he said he was maybe going on a trip and…"

"Who baby? What did you ask? Calm down." As he spoke, the tears started falling faster.

"Jason…my…my dad. When J asked me if I'd still be his best friend I had a flashback or something and, I'm pretty sure the last thing I ever said to him was 'will you still be my best friend, dad?' He wasn't a bad….he was…maybe he was a good dad. Maybe he was my best friend. I…I don't know. And then he just left and…"

"Shhh…Shhh…relax honey." April kissed her husband's chest, his neck, his lips. When he was ready, she grabbed his neck and wrapped herself around him. It's why he called her his little koala, sometimes.

She set a rhythm, slow and steady, and whispered in his ear, stepping out of her comfort zone. She didn't usually talk about much of anything at all during sex. "I love you so much, Jackson Harper Avery. I'm never gonna leave you." She paused to kiss him, and wiped the tears from his cheeks. April took a deep breath, preparing to break the strictest rule of their entire marriage. She was going to talk about her kid during sex. "And your son, loves you so much. You are his favorite person in the whole entire world, and he only asked that because he was confused. Do you understand me? We know you'll never leave us. You are more than enough. You make me happy every day. You please me. You know me. I got you."

It wasn't the most romantic ending in the world, but it meant something to Jackson. "I got you," was something he said to his family all the time. "I got you, J. I won't let you fall," he said, when he was teaching his son to ride a bike. "I got you," he'd say sometimes, in the operating room, when his wife asked for more suction. If they could afford it, they took a second to smile at each other, and everyone in the operating room would roll their eyes, wondering what was so romantic about suction.

They came together. Even with the water running, April could hear her husband sobbing. It was only the second time she'd ever seen him cry. The first time was after the shooting. She'd been waiting for something like this to happen since their wedding. Jackson kept most of his negative emotions locked in some deep, dark place, and that scared April. She thought she might be nervous when it happened, but in that moment, she felt relieved. She just stood there and held him as the water ran, and let him cry.

"Alright, you have an ER to get to and I have a kid to take care of." As suddenly as the tears started, they stopped. "Let's get you soaped up, shall we?"

April giggled, letting Jackson change the subject. They could talk tomorrow. "OK," she said, allowing him to soap her up.

"You not workin' mama?" Julian asked, 15 minutes later, when April came into his room and scooped him up in her arms.

"Of course I am, silly boy. I'm wearing scrubs. I'm going in a little later than I thought. But before I go I need your help with a super secret mission, are you up for it, Jul?"

"Oh course, mama," he said. Duh! Julian Avery had never not been ready for a super secret mission. She gave him a serious nod and they headed toward the kitchen. "Mint choco chip!" he exclaimed, excitedly, as he watched his mom dish out two mugs full of ice cream, complete with whipped cream and cherries on top.

"Yeah, J! Your daddy's feeling kinda sad, and so I need you to keep him company in our room, OK? And I thought these might make you both happy."

"They will, mom!" Julian assured her, eyes wide. "Why's daddy sad?"

"Oh, sometimes people just feel sad, and they don't really know why."

"Even my dad?" He wrinkled his nose, a little bit as they walked toward Jackson and April's bedroom, confused. He'd rarely seen his dad sad, even when Pawpaw Harper died.

"Even your dad." April nodded at her son, actually happy to be able to teach him that lesson.

"Daddy! Souprize! We gots ice cream. Mint choco chip wit ceam and a cherry too, dad!" Jackson looked up from his Ipad and grinned at Julian.

"Oh wow! Mommy's gonna let YOU eat in her bed and snuggle with me?" He exaggerated his surprise, making his son laugh and nod as Julian crawled into bed next to him. April and Jackson ate in bed when he was asleep, but Julian knew beds were pretty much only for sleeping and reading in.

"Jus' fer movie, dad." That had always been the rule.

April beamed down at her boys, snuggling cozy in bed. Her son had his favorite dinosaur jammies on, her husband his flannel ones, with a Harper Avery foundation t-shirt. She wished she could crawl into bed, right between them. "Actually, I was thinking maybe daddy would like a snuggle buddy all night tonight. What do you think daddy, is that something you need?"

"Absolutely." Jackson nodded at his wife and mouthed a thank you. Her wording had not been lost on him.

Julian gasped. "Breakin' da rules?" His green eyes were wide as he looked between his parents, disbelieving.

"Sometimes rules were meant to be broken, J! Even mommy knows that!" April laughed at herself. But it was true. Something in her husband had broken tonight, and to fix him, she and her son needed to break some rules.

"Awwwsome dad!" Julian looked at Jackson, excited.

"Yeah, your mama is pretty awesome, little man," he said, as April came to his side to kiss him goodbye.

"I love you, and I got you, Jackson." He nodded. He knew. "And maybe you keep him home from school tomorrow, if you need some more time."

Jackson laughed. "He'll like that one."

"Night J! I love you more than I love cuppies!" April leaned in to kiss her son.

"I love you more than dinos, mama!"

"Take care of your dad for me, OK? You got him, Jul?" she asked, in the doorway of her room.

"Yeah. I take carea daddy to-night! I got you, daddy. Like mommy say," April heard her son tell her husband before they started discussing what movie to watch. She smiled.


	5. The Picture

**Hello! It feels like it's been forever, but it really hasn't. This one is based off a prompt asking for Japril to take kids to go see Santa and for a cute disaster to happen. Yay me! I did something sorta festive...it's not really my thing. But as always, please let me know what you think. **

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><p>"Jackson Harper Avery, this is not, in no uncertain terms, going to be our Christmas card picture!" April huffed indignantly from her spot on the couch. She was 38 weeks pregnant, and relieved to be laying down in her living room after a long day. They had been to visit Santa and then decorated the tree.<p>

"Aww come on babe, it was cute!" Jackson massaged his wife's feet.

"You think that was cute? Honestly who are you and what have you done with my husband?"

"I'm a realistic father of three, with one on the way, who ended up having a great day with his family today."

"Jackson, babe. I know that you didn't really celebrate Christmas as a kid so days like this mean a lot to you. And that makes me love you even more, honestly. But the picture on that card is going to be seen by doctors all over the country, be realistic. We have to schedule a holiday portrait like tomorrow. I refuse to use my pregnancy as an excuse to skip a year."

"We don't have to!" Jackson chuckled a little bit, looking over at the picture his wife was holding.

"You would be proud of your sons for this." April grumbled and rolled her eyes, remembering her day.

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><p>"Mama Max say daddy say there's no Santa. There's a Santa right? Who else drinks the milk and cookies one year and the next and the next? Who mom?"<p>

April eyed her husband angrily. There was no reason why her five-year-old son, no matter how serious his personality was, should've overheard anything like that.

Jackson turned to Max, incredulous. "Max man, I didn't say that bud. Where'd you hear that?"

"I didn't say my daddy said that, I said Benjy's daddy said that. Maggie don't know how to do listenin'. Just talkin'." Jackson laughed at his son's observation, and his wife shot daggers at him across the kitchen.

"So Santa is real, mom?"

"Of course he is. How could we go visit him if he wasn't real?"

"And he haves elfs fer to help make the toys for all the kids?"

"Yes Maggie, please stay still. I'm almost done with your hair."

"And he marry Mrs. Claus same way like you marry daddy?"

"Yes Maggie."

"Well, I'm not sure it was exactly the same way mommy married me but…" Jackson shrugged and mumbled under his breath.

"Jackson, how is what you are doing right now helping us get out of the house faster?" It was a version of the question she asked both her children when they were misbehaving or just annoying her. He was very much like her fifth child lately, and being that the fourth one wasn't even out, she had little patience for him.

"What?" Jackson asked, indignant. "Benji's dad is the one who doesn't believe in Santa, and little man is all dressed." April let out a frustrated breath.

"J, I asked you just to change him because I wanna feed him, it doesn't take us that long anymore, right Mase?" April gave her 11-month-old son a smile. He bounced in his dad's arms across the room. "But I don't want him to mess up the suit and tie."

"Mama, Santa gon' give me so many presents 'cause I'm such a good girl?"

"Probably. Maybe save some of these questions for Santa though, sweetie."

"Lemme just give him some cereal. We don't have time and you promised..."

"I am. I'm weaning him. Max Max, please eat your cereal, stop playing with it."She caught her oldest son's antics out of the corner of her eye.

"I'm making a val-anche." Of course he was, because Jackson taught him what an avalanche was yesterday.

"No dude. Stop that. Eat or you clean up all the mess you make while your brother and sister visit Santa." Jackson knew how to parent very well when his kids' behavior could get him in trouble.

Jackson gave April a look, still focused on the other topic. "I'm weaning him Jackson…he's down to just a morning feeding. It's just…hard." She bit her lip as she finished styling her daughter's hair. Her son was 11 months and still not completely off breast milk. But he wasn't asking for it by name yet that was her new cut off time.

She'd weaned her other children faster because she thought that's what a "normal mom," was supposed to do. But with her third, she'd slowly been letting go of those pressures she felt from society to fit a certain mold. She loved having bonding time with her son while breast feeding, and she able to schedule it fine, so that was that. But Jackson was right, it was getting late and she didn't want to spend the whole day on line waiting for Santa. "Fine, you're right. Just give him whatever quick. We'll meet you in the car. Come on Max man, let's go. Mags, you're all done come with mama. You're done." She fastened a decorative red poinsettia into her daughter's high bun and patted her shoulder.

"Wait mama, I wanna see it. Can I see it? Can you get a mirer? Can I show daddy? I wanna!"

Jackson stopped feeding the baby and glanced over his shoulder. "Very pretty baby girl, now just go with mama. There's a little mirror in my car."

"Daddy, I not your baby girl anymore. She in mama's belly, almos' done cookin'." Max rolled his eyes at his little sister while fidgeting in his suit. Maggie stared her father down, hands on her hips.

Jackson chuckled. April had read somewhere that it was easier for kids to grasp the idea of a new baby when they knew the sex. Max was only a little over a year when Maggie was born, but from her pregnancy with Mason on they decided to find out the baby's sex. "You're right, Mags, she is. Now go help mama warm up the car for me."

April physically ushered her kids to the door, hands on both of their shoulders. Maggie especially would just keep talking and talking, making it difficult for Jackson to feed the baby quickly. She seemed to always pick the busy parent to annoy. "Remember please don't overfeed him!" she screamed, on her way out the door.

"Ho, ho, ho, what's your name, little girl?" Maggie gave a small smile, tricking Santa into thinking she was shy, for a second.

"My name Magnolia Harper. 'Acause my nana growed up in the south. And my brother's real name's Maxwell Jackson, but he just telled you Max." Max groaned from where he stood at Santa's side, waiting for his brother and sister to get their turn on his lap before they took a family picture. His sister was so crazy sometimes. "An' my other brother named Mason Kepner and the baby in mom's belly name is Marin April. So two kids haves daddy's name, two kids haves mama's. But afer Marin mama say daddy gettin' a snip, no more babies cookin' in her oven. No way." Magnolia shook her head back and forth for emphasis. All the adults in ear shot, including the helper elves, stood with their mouths wide open.

Jackson saw April tense up with embarrassment, so he kissed the back of her neck and rubbed her shoulders. He was glad he was standing behind her, though, because he couldn't help but grin. It was very hard to embarrass him, but his wife was a very different story.

Santa chuckled nervously. "Magnolia sweetie I don't want a family history. I just need to know, were you naughty or nice this year?"

"Nice. 'Asept I hit when Max hit me 'acause daddy say girls 'loud to fight back." Santa chose not to touch that one.

"And what do you want for Christmas this year?"

"I four, so I getting' my pony from pop pop. He telled me 'ready and I knows 'cause Max gotted his las' time. I jus wants a doll house like at my grama's house like my mom haves. You gaved it to her, when she was little, you members? Her name's April Grace Avery. But it was April Grace Kepner. She from 'hio." Maggie Avery was nothing if not thorough.

Santa nodded confidently. "Oh of course I remember."

"But I don't want same one, I want different one, OK Santa?" The Kepners had a huge vintage wooden custom-made dollhouse in their attic. Magnolia ran to it every time they went to visit the farm. She was getting what she asked for this year, partly just to keep her entertained while they took care of the new baby, but talky or not, she _was_ a good girl. Jackson went all out, and hired a custom dollhouse maker. Her only requirements were that it was "pink and big like my house." But she was very respectful of all the delicate pieces in her mom's old one, so they were even getting a few rooms furnished for her, and letting her decorate a few herself once she opened it up.

"Alright, should we get this picture taken?" Santa looked toward Jackson and April. April was going to be in it because she was carrying one of the babies, and she insisted Jackson not be left out, seeing it as an opportunity to take the picture that Harper required for the December foundation newsletter. It was the week after Thanksgiving, the picture was due soon.

"Yep, let's get this done. Here, you hold the Mace Monster, Santa. I'm gonna hang out with my wife and the little bun in the oven."

"Better do that," Santa mumbled. "Looks like you don't have much more time before mommy's bump disappears, never to come back again." Jackson smirked.

So he and April stood at Santa's left, him behind her, hand on her bump. He hid himself in this picture every year. It wasn't about him. It was about his wife and kids. Max stood at Santa's right, he was too cool for Santa's lap, and looking bored. Santa held baby Mason on one knee, and Magnolia sat on the other.

"Ready?" the elf in charge of the camera asked, and April glanced over at he kids, quickly.

"Magnolia Harper, stop playing with your dress, Maxwell Jackson, hands at your sides." They knew when mommy said their full names, she meant business. So Maggie stopped playing with the red bow on her dress and Max took his hands out of his pockets.

"One, two, three…" The elf said, and the instant the flash went off, Max reached over and yanked at Santa's beard. Baby Mason chose the moment to spit up on Santa's knee. "Merry Christmas, Love, The Averys."

* * *

><p>"We most certainly have to retake it tomorrow! And no Santa allowed, we'll do a snowy set or something. And you definitely don't get to feed Mase in the morning. I knew you would feed him too much! He's not a big eater."<p>

Jackson rolled his eyes. "I get it, I get it. Mama knows best."

"I can't believe Max, though."

"I can, babe. He's five. It was funny."

"Funny to you, maybe. Not funny to all the other parents who had to spend the whole day explaining to their kids why Santa's beard came off! I wanted to go shopping there, but I was nervous we'd run into an irate mom!" April's eyes widened as she spoke.

"See if I knew that I would've insisted we stay. I thought you were finally working on not caring what other mommies think of you." He finished massaging her feet and she sat up, cuddling close to him.

April pouted at him. "I am, I promise Jackson. But Santa is serious business Jackson. It's not OK to pull his beard down."

"Well, Max is unscathed and we had a great day decorating the house and we're not gonna care what those moms we're never gonna see again might have thought of your parenting in that moment. Right?" He pecked her lips, tucking a strand of copper red hair behind her ear.

"Right," April whispered, unconvincingly.

"Nope. I don't believe you. Try again."

"You're right Jackson, you are!"

"Who's the only person whose opinion of your parenting matters…just a little bit?"

"Yours Jackson. It matters a lot." April looked down, playing with the drawstrings on her Santa-themed pajama pants.

"Ask me. Ask me what I think, babe."

"What do you think Jackson?" Her voice was still weak.

"I think you're the best mommy ever. I'm so happy you chose to make babies with me. And I see you trying to relax a little bit and you're doing a good job. And if you're struggling one day, all you have to do is ask for help."

April kissed him. "OK. Hey Jackson?"

"Hey April?"

"I think you're the best daddy ever. Thank you for choosing to make babies with me."

"Love you, babe…Are you ready to go get those Santa PJs off, huh? I'm sick of looking at them."

"No. We can't have sex tonight. Nothing to increase the chances of her coming before those pictures are taken. I mean it, Jackson."

"But after?" Jackson asked hopefully, as they walked upstairs to their room.

"Oh after the pictures? She can come as soon as she wants to. I love being pregnant. Especially this time 'cause I know she's my last. Bet everyone has a breaking point."

Jackson looked down at his phone. "It's only 10. I can totally call the photographer and schedule something bright and early. He always fits us in."

April giggled as she crawled into bed. "You do that, honey." She knew exactly how to get her husband to do exactly what she wanted.


	6. Mission Complete (A Julian Xmas Story)

**Hi guys! I know I've been slacking on these but I was distracted by TGO/life for a while there. I wanted to get this up before Christmas, but Christmas night works. For those of you who like the holiday, it will extend it a little bit more, maybe. But I'm not great with festive. This is just a story which happens to take place on Christmas day, to me. Please let me know what you think. **

* * *

><p>"He comed, he comed, he comed, he comed, he comed, he comed, he comed." Julian Avery barged into his parents' unlocked bedroom on Christmas morning. Barefoot in his candy cane PJs, he danced in a little circle at the end of their bed, unable to contain his excitement.<p>

"Welp, guess you're not coming, this morning." Jackson quickly rolled off of his wife and sat up in bed, making sure the covers were still pulled tightly around both of them.

"Shut up," April whispered to her husband, smacking him. When she woke up that morning, she'd set to work baking the traditional cinnamon bun breakfast her family always had. After she'd taken them out of the oven and set them down to cool, she'd come back to the bedroom to wake up Jackson. He'd convinced her to give him a morning quickie for Christmas, because he was on call later in the day and they might not get alone time. But Julian had other plans for his parents, it seemed.

"Relax, bud! Who came…What are you talking about?" Jackson yawned and feigned confusion.

"Santa dad! Santa comed. I telled you yeser-day to stop 'noyin mommy so Santa come fer you. He did!"

"For me?" Jackson wrinkled his nose. "I thought Santa only came for kids."

"Mommy say you a big kid, dad. So Santa come fer you, too. And he musta comed fer mommy, there's a lotta 'resents out there, dad! Santa love us all!"

"Oh a lot, huh? Are you telling me you went inside to look under the tree before you came to wake up mommy and daddy?" Julian gave his dad a coy smile and Jackson picked him up and threw him on their bed, launching a tickle attack and causing him to bust into incessant giggles.

April rolled her eyes, using the time her son was distracted to put herself back together and get out of bed. "Well _children_," she eyed Jackson, amused. He was laughing so hard with his son he was almost out of breath. "Mommy's gonna go ice the cinnamon buns so we can eat while we open presents." She stood with her hands on her hips and cleared her throat, waiting for a reply.

Jackson caught her stare and paused the tickle fight. "OK, mama."

"Yeah, OK mama. Lotta icy fer me, please. More den daddy."

"Oh it's like that, huh?" Jackson asked, launching another attack on a gleeful Julian. He was trying to just be in the moment and have fun, but in the back of his mind it bothered him that in an hour and a half, he'd be at the mercy of his beeper. Julian was three and a half. This was the first year he was going to fully understand everything that was going on during the day. And it was also the first Christmas Jackson was probably going to be working. Both he and April had somehow managed to get off previous years, and it was just dawning on Jackson now that their timing was horribly wrong. It was more important to be with his son this year than any other. But he probably wasn't going to be.

"Come on dad! Come look! Santa eated the cookies me and mama baked and he even took the carrots fer reindeers, mama was right!"

"Really? Show me bud! Right behind you." He smiled and rolled out of bed, thankful for his awesome life.

* * *

><p>"Don't you dare turn on that movie, Jackson Harper, I swear. My three-year-old will not be mentioning b-e-b-e g-u-n-s in this house any time soon. Or at all if it's up to me." April huffed. She hated to be even a little bit of a Grinch. Christmas was her favorite holiday, after all. But even though it was Jackson's favorite Christmas movie, she was standing her ground on "A Christmas Story" for at least one more year. Besides, it was a marathon. He could catch bits of it in the attendings lounge if he got called in to work.<p>

Quickly, April dismissed the thought from her mind, staring down at her boys. They were sitting next to each other surrounded mountains of red and green shiny wrapping paper and gold ribbons, both wide eyed with excitement as they opened presents. Some of Julian's gifts were a surprise to Jackson, and April loved watching her husband's face light up with genuine enthusiasm at the thought of being able to build certain Lego sets and spaceship models with his son.

She rubbed her belly, content. Jackson had been so scared before Julian was born. She was even scared _for_ him. Growing up Avery, Jackson was provided all the material comforts money could buy. But though Catherine was trying harder these days, he never really experienced unconditional, overflowing love in his household. Not in the way April had. She was worried he would stumble through parenthood in a very diplomatic way. But, though they both struggled learning early on, Jackson was more a loving, carefree and fun dad than she thought possible.

Her husband loved her, she knew that. But it had taken him a while to realize it. And even after he did, it took him time to learn how to express it in ways that fulfilled April, sometimes. Romance wasn't exactly his forte. Not as often as she would like. But when it came to his son, Jackson's love was now effortless. And he naturally knew when to be a friend, and when to be a father. Sometimes he treated his son like a peer, and every three-year-old needed that from their daddy. But he was also less insecure about comforting and showing affection than April had expected, given his upbringing. She secretly hoped baby number two was a girl, to see how he was with a daughter. But if it was another boy, that would be fine too; because she knew she had nothing to worry about.

"Daddy, this da coolest ship ever. Please can we start building it now, afore we go to Nana and Grampa's house?" Julian asked, after he'd finished opening his last gift, a pair of socks with basketballs on them. He'd tossed those aside quickly.

"Let's clean up first bud, we need space on the floor to spread out all the parts and put it together. Then we'll see, OK? We'll have so much time tomorrow. I'm off. But Nana and Grampa are expecting us."

Catherine split her time now between the foundation in Boston and Grey-Sloan in Seattle. She and Richard bought apartments both places together, and had made sure to be in Seattle for Christmas this year. She even offered to host when she heard Jackson might be working.

"OK," Julian frowned, a little disappointed. But Jackson didn't want to start something and have to abandon it five minutes in. It was very rare that the on call doctor didn't get called in, lately. Jackson wanted to do everything he could to minimize Julian's disappointment when his beeper went off. Because it would.

"Jacks, why don't you just…start a movie a puzzle or something? Just the Buzzlightyear puzzle. I still have some baking to do and your mom's not expecting us for two hours." April pleaded with her husband when he walked out of the bedroom wearing the matching red sweatshirt to his son's green one and khakis. She understood why Jackson was reluctant, but she'd been watching her son watch TV alone while she was busy in the kitchen and Jackson was getting dressed. She'd always been sensitive, but even just watching Julian there alone for 15 minutes brought tears to her eyes. She'd offered to start the spaceship with him, but he'd turned her down.

"I'm gonna do it wit my dad, OK? You can be the watcher when it flies." He'd smiled, excited.

Jackson sighed. "Hey bud, do you want to start a puzzle? Let's do that OK? Please? We can't start the spaceship today. There's really not enough time."

The toy they played with didn't matter to Julian. He came sprinting into the kitchen with one of his new puzzles. "Yeah! This way we can lick the beats when mama's done mixin' da brownies!" He eyed the attachments to April's mixer.

"Hey! Eyes off my beaters little man! Brownies taste best when they are completely baked. That's also the safest time to consume any baked goods, because there could be yucky…"

Jackson smirked at April as he opened up the puzzle box and started taking out the pieces. "Come on April, relax. It's Christmas. A little brownie batter is harmless."

"Yeah mama. Re-lax on Christmas. Santa comed and gotted you lotsa books." Jackson and April decided to exchange their presents to each other in private every year. They made a little date out of it, with champagne (this year that would be replaced by sparkling cider) and strawberries. It was nice to have "adult time" to look forward to after Julian's Santa excitement subsided. They were going to do it later in the week, this year. But they always got each other a few little things for under the tree, because Santa loved mommies and daddies, too.

But there would be no relaxing for April, yet, Because as soon as Jackson spread out all of the puzzle pieces, his beeper sounded. He groaned. "911." Also known as "Don't bother to call and scope it out, get your ass in here NOW!"

April did her best to sound cheerful, though the noise, and the look on her husband's face (it screamed 911) broke her heart. "I…have no time to relax right now. I have to get these brownies in the oven and then finish a puzzle with my son before we go to his Nana's to see what Santa left him there." Julian sighed, deflated. He knew what that sound meant. What that look meant.

"Okaay…"

"We'll make brownies for movie night, J! Lick the batter and all."

Jackson had almost gathered all of his stuff already. "That sounds fun, bud! Movie night's in two days. We're gonna have so much fun this week. Tomorrow daddy's off and the next day mommy and daddy are off. I can't wait."

"Okay." Julian frowned.

Jackson sped passed April, kissing her cheek. He turned his son's chair around and knelt down so he was more on his level. "Hey little man? I'll see you tomorrow, OK? We'll have sooo much fun. But tonight, you can take an action figure or two to Nana's to play with. Or, maybe Grandpa will make the creepy crawlers with you! Santa got you so much stuff. You are such a good boy. You can't do all of the stuff with me, right? That would make everyone else so sad."

"I know! But I wants you to come to Nana's fer dinner. Acause…I need comp-ny."

"You're gonna have so much…Grandpa? He'll be so excited to play with you. You hardly get to play with him." But Jackson really did feel horrible for his son. Julian was loved, but Meredith Grey was having Christmas at one of Derek's sisters' places in New York, so it was just going to be Julian with three adults this year. Jackson knew he was his son's best friend. Tonight was going to be hard for both of them. He couldn't wait for the new baby to be born for many reasons. But at times like this, the most important one was because his son would have a playmate soon.

"Ok. Mama will let me bring creepy crawls thing? It haves gooey stuff. Not 'loud to mess Nana's house." He was almost in tears.

April came over to help with damage control. "J, how about you can pick three toys to bring, sound good? One big thing we can all do with you like creepy crawls or Legos or Jenga, and then maybe an action figure or two. We can make a mess on Christmas. But remember, Nana gets you toys too, and Santa leaves one thing there. We're all gonna miss daddy, but we're still gonna have fun. And what's daddy going to be doing? Why is it important that he goes to work, right now?"

"'Acause some peoples got cutted or burned or hurted. He need to help, even special days. Sometimes his turn. Sometimes yours. Sometimes your turns at da same time. I happy he gon' help dem." Julian recited the answer to the question a little less enthusiastically than usual. It was tough having two surgeons for parents, sometimes. But Julian had such a big heart, reminding him that they helped people who were hurt or sick usually helped him not feel sad they were leaving. Not on Christmas, though.

"What you gon' eat fer dinner? Wit us?"

"I don't know, buddy. Depends on how busy the hospital is. But can you do something for me? I have a mission for you."

"Yeah dad! What?" Julian perked up a little. What little boy didn't love a mission?

"Make sure mommy and Nana don't eat all the pecan pie. I know how much they love it. But it's my fave, and I'm worried they're gonna eat it all."

"No worrying daddy! I got you!" Julian assured his dad, seriously.

"Thanks little man. Now that I know you're looking out for me, I feel a little better about going to work. I'm gonna miss you, but I'm glad we got to open Santa's gifts together. I love you. I can't wait to spend the day together, tomorrow. Don't make all the bugs tonight, promise? I want to make some with you."

"OK, I promise daddy!" Jackson kissed Julian's cheek and left the kitchen. April followed him to the door.

"This sucks so much babe!" Jackson paused before leaving.

"I know," April sighed. "But we knew it was coming." She shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe you'll get out for dinner." But they both had little hope. "The most important part of the day is the morning, Jackson. We are so blessed. We had a wonderful morning with our son. And we knew this was inevitable, one day. We're surgeons. And neither of us is in private practice. He's sad, so am I. But he gets it. He does."

"Well, maybe we should discuss moving earlier than we planned, this really sucks. More than I expected. I don't like it."

April kissed him. "Now's not the time to talk about that. You gotta go honey. It was a 911 page." April wiped a tear from her eye as she watched Jackson pull away. But she mustered up a smile before re-entering the kitchen. "Hey Jul, wanna lick the beaters? And then we'll put the brownies in the oven and do the puzzle. And maybe we'll call Nana and show up a little early, so start thinking of the toys you want to bring."

"OK, mama. I'm happy we will be playin' to-gether all day on Christmas."

"Me too, bud!" she kissed her son's cheek. "And Nana's roast beef is awesome. Who knows what she has planned and what Santa left for you there? We are gonna have such a fun day!" April was going to try her damndest to make sure Julian did. But she knew she had a tough task ahead of her. No one quite filled daddy's shoes in her son's eyes.

* * *

><p>"Hey Julian, will you look at mama, please?" He looked up, wiping tears from his eyes. "Everybody misses your daddy and wishes he were with us." Well except for the new neighbors in the building who Catherine invited last minute. But they left. Julian was indifferent to them until he realized they were two extra mouths that were going to take away pieces if pie from his dad. Once he did, he started giving them evil eyes, even after dessert. He did not trust that those two pieces of pie were safe until after the strangers said goodbye and walked out the door.<p>

"But Nana had the great idea to make a gingerbread house, and everyone here is having so much fun. You and Nana even decided that we were going to do another Christmas with dad in two days. I think that's a great idea and it will make him so happy that you only opened up one present, because you wanted to wait for him. We are all trying to help you make the most awesome gingerbread house that we can. It is not acceptable to throw a tantrum when something doesn't look the way you want it to. Grandpa tried to make a candy spaceship for you. I think he did a pretty good job before you ruined it. You need to apologize for ruining it or you get a time-out. You do not get to act out just because things aren't going your way. So what do you have to say to your grandpa?"

"I-I-I-sorry grampa," Julian stuttered and sniffled through the apology. "I sad I crushed your spaceship acause that was not nice. I just…Just…" His tears started again. "I really want my daddy."

"That's alright Julian. I understand. I'm very sorry you are feeling sad today." Richard Webber put his arm around the closest thing he had to a grandson. "Should we try to make another one?"

"No grandpa, he lost the privilege to ask you to try again when he destroyed the first one. The gingerbread house will look just fine without a spaceship on the lawn."

Catherine Avery was often in awe of what a good mother her daughter-in-law was. April was strict, but fair and fun and loving at the same time. Both parents expected a lot of Julian, but were aware that kids made mistakes. They let him grow. The younger woman had taught her son so much about parenthood. Things Catherine knew he didn't learn from her own parenting methods.

As impressed as she was, Catherine knew April wasn't perfect. Though Julian did deserve a talking to, and there was nothing wrong with what April had chose to say, Catherine knew a thing or two about raising a little boy who missed his daddy. Jackson didn't have too many memories now, but he was four when his father left, and for those first couple of years afterward, he asked about his dad constantly and was extra sad on holidays.

The little bit of déjà vu Catherine was having broke her heart. She knew that this was a completely different situation. Jackson's son was his best friend and he was not afraid to tell anyone who asked. He was never going to abandon his family. That didn't mean she liked seeing her grandson so sad on Christmas.

"Jul, honey. What can we do to help you feel less sad?"

"We try to make a bask-ball hoop? Dad will like that more den a space ship." Julian cautiously looked to his mom for an answer.

April sighed. "If Nana or Grandpa wants to try for you, they can. But you just made me very sad. And the second you start to complain about it, Julian…"

"I will not. I pro-mise. We also can wrap up da pie for dad?"

"Julian, Nana said she would make a whole other pie for dad. You are getting a little silly about the pie."

Catherine whispered in April's ear as Richard and Julian tried to decide how to make a basketball hoop with all the candy in front of them. "April sweetheart. You know I think you are a wonderful mom and I try not to meddle but…well…Cut him a little break today, alright? It's Christmas and he's not used to his daddy and best friend not being around. I know a little bit about little boys who miss their dad on Christmas. It's hurting me that my son is missing someone again, right now. He's probably missing both of you so much more than you know."

"OK, Catherine but…I just…it's frustrating. I can't make this better."

Catherine put her chin in her hands and thought for a second. "Hey Julian, do you want to help me pack up your daddy's pie while Grandpa puts the finishing touches on the gingerbread house? I think we should write dad a note. What should it say?"

"Yeah please! I want to write 'Mission Com-lete' acause he gaved me a mission to get da pie." Julian watched so many space movies.

"That's a good idea, buddy!" April smiled at her son from across the table. She checked her watch and was surprised that it was already 9 p.m. "Then I think we're gonna go home and get to bed. I know it's Christmas, but it's getting late."

"Oh, so daddy really missed Christmas?"

"No he didn't bud. He watched you open all your presents this morning, remember? He just missed dinner at Nana and grandpa's. But you knew that might happen."

"Meet Nana inside. I'll be right there." Catherine squeezed her grandson's shoulder. He stared at the floor as he walked into the kitchen.

"Call him up, see what he's doing. He's on 'til 2 a.m. right? So he's not coming home, tonight. But that doesn't mean he's busy. If he's just napping I'm visiting the hospital with my grandson. You have clothes there, right? And an early shift?"

April nodded. "6 a.m.," she groaned.

"So drive us there. Spend the night. And then Jackson can take us both home at two. This way I get to spend a little bit of alone time with my son on the car ride home. I know Jackson. You do too. He's probably just as wrecked as little J. Worse, even. I have a note to go write. But you know it's a good idea. Necessary, even." Again, April nodded. Her mother-in-law had a point.

Just like Catherine guessed, Jackson wasn't coming home. But luckily, the rush was over and he wasn't busy. April got out of him that he was napping on the couch in his office, but she didn't tell him her plans. There was always the chance he got paged on their way over, but that was a risk worth taking.

* * *

><p>"Thank God someone in heaven is on our side today," April thought as Julian opened up his dad's office door and ran to shake him awake.<p>

"Daddy, I got your pecan pie." Julian shook his dad's shoulder with his tiny hands. His mother followed behind with the pie.

Jackson groaned in his sleep. "Shhh little man, daddy's tired," he said. Julian frowned.

"He's not awake yet, sweetheart. He doesn't know we're here." April assured her son, putting the pecan pie on her husband's desk for a second. "Watch this." If her mother-in-law were in the room, April would be a little more self-conscious about what she was about to do, but she was strangely fine with PDA in front of her son, to a point, of course. Catherine was busy downstairs with Bailey, talking about one board issue or another. "Babe. Hi. Wake up honey. Little man brought you pie, just like you asked." She kissed him, directly on the lips.

"Mmm April. That's nice."

"Yeah. Jackson. Wake up. We're here to spend some time with you." She kissed him again, and this time he opened his eyes and startled a little, but reciprocated the kiss. "Hi you."

"You." Jackson laughed softly, huge smile on his face.

"Daddy, you waked now? I gotted you pie. Two peecies."

Jackson sat up and yawned, reaching out to his son. April noticed his face light up even more than it did when he saw her. "Come here bud! I need a hug and a kiss. Do you know how much I missed you today, huh?" He asked, kissing the top of Julian's head and squeezing him tight.

"Yes acause I missed you same much."

"But you had fun at Nana's right?" Jackson raised his eyebrows, concerned.

Julian shook his head "no" wildly, and his little mop of curls flopped to one side. But he said, "Little bit. Made you a soup-rize fer when we have da do-over. But I was mean to grampa. Al-most gotted time out."

Jackson looked past his son to his wife, who was busy plating pie. "We had a pretty rough night, babe. Jul was just too sad to open presents without you. But we're gonna do it on Friday when we're both home. Don't worry about everything else so much, Jul. You were really sad. I'm sorry I didn't give you more hugs."

"It OK. Do-over gonna be better, mom."

"You're right, sweetheart."

"It sounds like it's gonna be so fun," Jackson was sincere. "I can't believe you didn't open presents."

"I didn't want to so no one did." Julian shrugged.

"Your bud was very concerned about completing his mission," April said, handing Jackson pecan pie.

"Hey! I gotted him two!" Julian was no fool.

"He only needs one, bud. He'll have more Friday. Besides, I didn't have a piece because I didn't want to make you more nervous. One's for me." It was a statement, not a question.

Jackson chuckled at April, amused that she was so protective over her pie. He knew why, too. But she was just 12 weeks, and didn't want to tell little man yet. Keeping the secret was killing her, though. "Look daddy. I wroted you a note wit Nana."

"Let's see. 'I love you daddy. Mission complete.' Bud that's awesome. You wrote so many letters yourself." He kissed Julian's cheek.

The little boy smiled proudly. "Yup."

Jackson closed his eyes, enjoying his favorite pie. "Here, bud. Share with me."

Julian shook his head again. "Nope. Gotted it fer you dad."

"Yeah. But I'm so happy you came to see me. Come on. Sit with me bud, and share pie."

"OK, Merry Christmas daddy." Julian giggled as he took a bite and the taste of sugary sweet pecans filled his mouth.

"Merry Christmas, little man." Jackson looked over his son's head to his wife smiling as he watched her eat her pie and rub her belly quickly. She blew him a kiss and made a mental note that they had to work out their schedules very carefully around holidays. But right then, her mission to make sure her son had the best Christmas possible seemed to be complete.

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><p><strong>AN: An anon asked if I was going to make Julian's world into a larger fic like I did with the TGO girls. The answer for right now is no. It took me about 24 or 25 one shots that were basically Bellie Fluff before the idea for TGO even came to me. The world was slowly building, without me knowing. There might be a larger story here, but I have no idea what it is, yet or if it's even there. I'd be happy to write more of him though. I love that little boy. And I purposefully write Jackson as slightly more comfortable with being a dad to Julian than I normally would in other one shots. I love how that's turning out. So if you have Julian prompt ideas, send them. Each one (might) slowly get me closer to a longer fic.<br>**


	7. Own It

**Hi guys, sorry this is late...you know...life. Anyway, the prompt was for April catching Jackson alone in a moment with the baby and realizing he didn't have to be as scared as he was...something like that...it's Julian because though I try not to that's my default. And I really like the end...but let me know what YOU think. **

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><p>April scrubbed out and power-walked to the attendings lounge as fast as she could, eyes straight-ahead determined. Today was a good day. She loved getting back to work, getting back into the OR, cutting again. But she missed her baby boy so much. She and Jackson had decided to split their leave time (even though they owned the hospital, it still mattered.) Her three months ended yesterday, so his six weeks had begun today, and she was anxious to get home to see how his first day alone with Julian went.<p>

Even though Jackson had helped so much with the baby already thanks to crafty scheduling, even though he'd smiled last night and been the one to assure her that he would be all right, she knew he was nervous. Outside of work, the first baby Jackson ever held was his son. He was a determined learner though. Determined to be everything for Julian that his father never was for him. Literally. When April was pregnant, Jackson had been asking Catherine about his father. She told him that Jason never changed a diaper.

Jackson was a focused learner, but he still had ways to go. April couldn't wait to get home to give her husband the break he probably needed and spend time with Julian. They had a rule that the parent at work could only call to check up once. And the one at home couldn't incessantly text pictures, only questions if necessary. Missing people was sweet. And escaping to and concentrating on work was important, that was April's logic. She'd been proud of those rules until she was the one working. Now she understood why Jackson attacked them both with kisses when he came home. All she wanted to do was get home to love on her boys.

"So how was your day, April?" Arizona smiled, innocently waiting for an answer as April slammed her locker door.

"Great, great! I gotta go though! I really wanna get home, see my boys. You understand, right? Catch up later," she ran out the door without waiting for a reply.

She caught every red light on the way home. She dashed out of the car and sprinted up the stairs of the apartment complex. "Babe, where are you? How was your day? Where's my little man?" April started with the questions as soon as she got in the door, no matter that the living room was empty.

"I'm starving, you wanna…" she started, but stopped as soon she reached the nursery door, taking in the scene in front of her.

"Don't pee on me this time, bud, promise? I wanna be able to at least tell mommy I changed one diaper successfully today. She was so worried about not being here to fix my mistakes, and we don't want her to be right, do we?" Julian giggled his tiny little baby giggle that barely counted, yet. It was more like a purr. Jackson's back was to April as he cooed at his son on the changing table. "That's right, we don't."

April felt tears form behind her eyes as she watched Jackson kiss Julian's chubby cheeks while changing his diaper. Everything went perfectly, no disaster this time. She'd ask about those later. For now she just relaxed and let the huge grin spread across her face. Julian had opened up this well of emotions she had always suspected were inside of her husband. He definitely didn't express them to her very easily. He tended to keep them welled up until he was forced into some kind of confession for whatever reason. But Julian? Jackson gave him everything, easily.

He picked up the baby and held him against his shoulder, back still to April. Julian spotted his mama though, and began to cry. "What? None of that…come on why are you…Oh…you've got food on the brain, I get it," Jackson smirked as he spun around and saw April.

"Oh, do you have to be like that? He just misses his mama, don't you, little man? Yes you do…" April gushed in her best baby talk, taking her son from Jackson. He continued wailing and Jackson raised his eyebrows.

"It actually is about time for a bottle though," he pecked her lips. "How was your day, did you cut a lot of people open? See a lotta blood?" he asked, excitedly.

"That is _not_ why I do my job," she huffed, slightly indignant, as she positioned Julian to feed. "I'm on a light surgery rotation for a few weeks until I get a pumping schedule down. But if you must know I did help to save a life today. And didn't lose anyone. Did he have enough milk? How was your day? Did everything go all right? I was standing there for awhile…what went wrong with the diaper changes? Is he OK?"

Jackson put his hand on April's shoulder. "Babe, relax. Everything was fine. We did fine. He just peed on me like twice which is very rude but we had a talk. He promised to chill, right little J?" Jackson smiled down at his son, who was oblivious to anything but his mother for the moment. "Are you hungry? I kind of cheated and ordered Greek. That's your favorite, right? I got you a chicken salad or something like that…Don't know what's taking it so long…" The buzzer cut him off and he left April and Julian alone to go set up dinner.

"You weren't nervous today, were you?" April inquired when she made her way into the kitchen after feeding Julian and putting him down. "Because you shouldn't be, babe. I watch you all the time. You're a natural."

"Yeah well, we got a good one, isn't that what everyone tells us? He's sleeping through the night already and everything."

"Yeah but…I'm just saying. I watch you, Jackson. The little moments you have alone with him and…"

"Ok, stalker…" she smacked him and took a big bite of salad, unable to wait any longer.

"I'm just saying, you're not him…" her mouth was full, she was nearly impossible to understand.

"I know I have to get to the gym, April we said we'd go together. Geez, must you always bring up the sympathy weight?" Jackson teased. But she knew he'd heard her.

"Can you ever be serious? For just one minute? You aren't him, OK? You are not your father and you're never going to be. I know you worry. I know that even though you change diapers and feed him and play with him all the time, you worry that some part of you shares the…the bad side of your dad. But you aren't him, OK? You're going to do fine."

"Alright, April."

"Say it. Say it like you mean it so I know that tomorrow you'll have an even better day."

"I'm not him," Jackson mumbled unenthusiastically, but April kissed him anyway, knowing her husband always needed positive reinforcement when talking about his father.

"Mmm that was nice, I really missed doing that today. Kissing you."

"Yeah? Say it like you mean it and maybe you'll get even more than kisses after dinner. I'm not as tired as I thought I'd be and I don't have to be in until 11 tomorrow. Own it."

"I'm not my father." He said it seriously and looked her in the eyes, unblinking.

"Thank you." She kissed him again, deeper this time, and tried to think of how best to reward him later. It really was that big a deal when Jackson talked about his dad, and April was going to do her best to acknowledge the difficulty her whole life. He'd said he wanted the baby to be a girl throughout her whole pregnancy. He was that afraid to raise a son.

"So, can we talk more about your day, please, whose life did you save?"

"Oh his name was Rick, he had three little girls and I assisted Bailey on a cecopexy after a car accident. I mean that was minor. A bunch of his organs got all twisted up," she took a sip of water and another bite of food, tilting her head to think. "So I guess I should've said we. We saved a life today. Dr. Pierce, Dr. Bailey and me."

"I think if you own your victory for once, I might reward you tonight too."

Jackson gave a coy smile and April sighed, secretly pleased. Because her marriage really and truly was becoming a partnership. They made each other face personal difficulties, nagged each other for good reasons. "I. I saved a life today. Happy?"

"So happy you had a good day. And happy you're home." He pecked her lips and they ate in peaceful silence for a few minutes, fingers locked under the table, both anxious to get to the extracurricular activity that was definitely happening after dinner.


	8. Tough

**This is in "The Whole Truth" world, but I wanted to upload it as part of this project, because it is. I've had the basic idea of the argument in my head for awhile, because the prompt is an old one back from 100 Days asking for Jackson to kind of flip out when his daughter started dating. I WAS going for a little bit more depth than I think I achieved, here. But I'm hoping soome of what I was going for came through. It really is just very fluffy though. But constructive thoughts are appreciated! It was nice to re-visit this world for a bit. And earlier, too! **

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><p>"Daddy look, I wroted my name to-day in pre-school." Justin, Jackson's four-year-old son shoved a piece of paper filled with gold stars in front of his face.<p>

"Great buddy, that's awesome!" Jackson took the piece of paper out of his son's hand to examine it further as he put his bag down by the door. "Wow, Just. You did really well, buddy. I'm proud of you." Jackson tussled Justin's little mop of curls and a huge grin spread across the little boy's face.

"Mommy sayed I earn video game time if you say so too. We can play NBA2K. They watchin' boring movie. Made me take nap before I hearded you come home."

"Did you do your chores? And all your workbook pages? Did mommy check them?" Even though his son was only four, they already had him learning extra at home. Biology at least, he could start young. Education was very important to Jackson. Boarding school he'd compromised on, but even though he'd found the best private school in the state to send his kids to from pre-school on, he'd always been determined to keep up academic rigor at home. He didn't want either of his children to feel underestimated, as he did in his family. He wanted them both to know he expected greatness from them.

"Yeah dad. I finished it all. That's way mommy said if you say yes I earned game time. Please?"

"Who's 'they' Just. You said 'they.'"

"Oh Ethan and Kenzie. They havin' movie date."

"Kenzie and who are doing what?" Jackson started to sprint down the hallway, ignoring his wife's distracted 'hi honey' from the kitchen. But then she registered where he was going and froze, almost dropping the plate she was holding.

"Jackson, babe, gimme my kiss," she tried to keep his pace as they neared the den. He ignored her request, and when she realized he wasn't going to let her soften him up first she started to panic. "Now remember Jacks, we…we trust Kenzie that's why I allowed a supervised…"

"Supervised…you call that supervised?" Jackson reached the doorway of the den and gestured to his 14-year-old daughter on the lap of some punk he'd never met in his life. "Who are you?" he spit at the boy. And to his daughter. "What do you think you're doing? Get off of his lap."

"I told her I'd clear the table." April mumbled to the floor, explaining why she hadn't been keeping a watchful eye.

"We were just watching a movie, daddy. Mom knew! We've been dating two weeks and I told her…"

Jackson turned to April, furious. "You knew? I thought we were supposed to talk about things like this, and you KNEW?" He threw up his hands, incredulous. "YOU! Get out of my house right now!" He screamed at Ethan, who promptly jumped off the couch and to the doorway of the room.

"DAD! YOU ARE BEING SO UNFAIR." Mackenzie jumped up too, and screamed in frustration.

"Night Kenz, see you Monday. Night Mrs. Avery, thanks for dinner." He only nodded at Jackson, too afraid to speak, and rightfully so. The older man just stood there, frozen with a scowl on his face.

"You go see him out," April whispered to her daughter, who had planned on it anyway. "Do not lay a finger on him. Your father will know." Kenzie groaned, but knew her mother was right.

"I can go play a video game, dad?" Justin piped up from his spot behind his dad, where he had been patiently waiting for the drama to subside.

"Justin, go do another page in your workbook," Jackson snapped.

"Don't you dare take your anger out on him. Yes, you have more than earned some game time this whole week, sweetie. My executive decision. But maybe play a one-player game tonight. Daddy's kind of…busy the rest of the night." April kissed her son's cheek.

"Okay." Justin moped, looking down at his bare feet, but then ran upstairs to the room where he and his dad kept all of their systems.

"I'm going to my room!" Kenzie called from the stairs after saying bye to Ethan. She was smart enough not to step anywhere near her parents for the rest of the night.

"Justin's been looking forward to hanging out with you all evening. And he really did earn his game time this week! You're gonna let your mood ruin his night and that is totally unfair!" April yelled at Jackson when she heard two doors slam upstairs. For her part, she thought some of the expectations Jackson put on their children were ridiculous, but he never got abusive about it, and tried to make learning fun and not a chore for them, Every so often he got in a mood though, and forgot that he'd promised to make sure his children had enough time in their day to just be kids.

"You fed him?" When he was in those moods, he also got angry over the most ridiculous things.

"Of course I did, Jackson! He was a guest in our home." April raised her hands in frustration.

"You didn't discuss this with me, any of it. You knew she had a boyfriend and you just conveniently forgot to tell me anything about it for two weeks?" Jackson stared at his wife, waiting for an answer.

"I knew you would…Kenzie's a good girl and…I'd rather they stay here than…" But April couldn't finish any of her sentences, she knew she was wrong.

"Yeah, exactly!" Jackson was furious with he whole situation. "You know what? I can't even have this conversation right now anyway. I need a minute alone." He turned away from her and climbed the stairs, angrily mumbling the whole way. April just sighed and went to finish clearing the table, happy to have some time to think of her defense, because she needed a good one.

* * *

><p>Jackson was sitting at the edge of the bed, head in his hands, when April entered the room. "I was wrong. I'm sorry. I should have told you," she said, sitting next to him.<p>

"If this wasn't a decision we should've made together, what is April?" he was stern, but some of his anger had subsided.

"She's a good girl, Jackson. She gets straight As, and even though she's only 14, she has her eyes set on the foundation and you know it! She's a varsity cheerleader already…she's already sat with Mary Kate at 13 and watched a pregnancy test come back negative. She just wants to date a boy. Before this they just held hands in the hallway at school. Sex is the furthest thing from her mind…And I knew you would…"

"Knew I would what? Freak out? Yeah because what's on _his _mind April, ever think about that when you were so quick to agree and hide it from me?"

"Oh come on, give her more credit. Give yourself more credit, Jackson. You raised her."

"I do give myself credit, April. I always have. You know what I gave myself a lot of credit for back when I was 14?" April just blinked. "Feeling girls up in my room past curfew at boarding school. How do you think I knew exactly what I was doing by the time Sarah and Penny came around the night of junior prom? Because I did know, you know. April you don't have the experience I do. You don't know…"

"Oh please don't start with my past, Jackson. You don't get to do that any more." April's voice remained firm. She was 46. After just over 14 years of marriage she was over talking to Jackson about their differences. She thought he was, too. Apparently he still kept the "You were an ugly teenager and I took your virginity" card in his back pocket.

"What did you do on your first date, April?"

"Jackson, I said don't do this…"

"You've never told me. I'm not trying to be mean…just make a point."

"Fine. Marcus Samuels. I was 20, home from college for the summer, we went to the carnival. I let him hold my hand and he won me a stuffed snake." April mumbled as she said it, avoided Jackson's eyes.

"I was 13 and we made out through the whole movie."

"So what's your point…you want to make me feel insecure about my past again? I'm gonna be 50 soon, it'd be a problem if I wasn't over that."

"No! No." Jackson grabbed April's hand, genuinely sorry that the conversation had taken this turn. "Just that…I'm sorry but…I do know a little bit more about this dating stuff, April. From both sides. And you are not gonna be 50 soon."

"Congratulations. You want a prize?"

"No…no…this is not going the way I meant for it to maybe we should just…" They were both quiet for a few minutes, at an impasse.

"Jackson, she's you. She's beautiful and smart and she works hard. She's social and everyone loves her. But boy is she sarcastic sometimes. When I was 14 I was holed up in my room hiding my glasses, acne and braces behind a science book. I mean, sometimes I'd come out to milk the cows and feed the chickens but…My daughter's not me at 14. And I never want her to be. So, I'm letting her date. Big deal." April let her sentence trail off and wiped a single tear from her eye.

"You're wrong April. She is you. She's beautiful and smart and kind and caring. And she loves medicine already, so much, because she wants to help people. And she loves God, too. Although she's leaning toward not making confirmation and she has a lot of problems with the way some things are worded in the Bible…I try to help but…She's got all of the good that's in you."

April wrinkled her nose in confusion. She was also a little bit frustrated. "Why is she coming to you about religion stuff?"

Jackson shrugged. "Same reason she's coming to you about dating, I guess. I don't know. I always warn her I'm clueless."

"Jackson! I'm not clueless about dating or guys or sex or…I dated two other guys in college…and then you sorta. And we had a lot of sex. And then I dated Matthew and got all the way down the aisle just to run away with a very complicated, frustrating, sarcastic, intelligent, loving, beautiful, did I say complicated yet?...Man. And we made a baby pretty quick the first time we tried. We weren't even trying, really. And then we bought this mansion and had this beautiful baby girl and you kept bending me every which way in every single room of the place...but I never got pregnant. And then when I finally got pregnant again, I had a miscarriage. I had all but given up. And then when I was 42, freakin 42…"

"You had our miracle baby boy. I know. I know."

"So stop pretending I don't have experience. I have a lot of relationship experience, thanks to you."

"Ok, you're right. I'm sorry. But relax. We gotta talk about this Kenzie dating thing. Who is this kid?"

"Ethan Jacobs. I don't know much more she doesn't tell me about him. I mean, I don't ask for his life story, just for how long they held hands in Latin that day."

"God forbid it's more than 30 seconds." Jackson rolled his eyes and laughed.

"You laugh but that's where she's at right now…I mean they have kissed but…"

"Whoa, whoa…"

"Relax, it was just a kiss. I'm keeping tabs on it. She wants to wait for marriage. She thinks I did and, she's told me she wants to wait. We've talked. It wasn't really a sex talk, but…"

"Okay. I know, April. I know. But…"

"But what do you want, what boundaries will make you happy? I should've asked this two weeks ago."

"Well, I want to talk to her about…" But he couldn't even finish his sentence.

"OK fine. We'll have a sex talk with her soon, Jackson."

"No. I want to. And then you. And then both of us, together."

"Three? Is that really necessary? She was there for everything with Mary-Kate…"

"Yes, yes it is. Sex is just a chapter in a health textbook at school."

"Fine, alright, three. Even though she wants to abstain. What else?"

"I wanna talk to him. His parents…"

"Wait a bit. We don't know much about him. You know nothing about his parental situation."

"Make dinner for him next Friday. You're off right? We'll get to know him. That's important."

"Fine. I guess I agree. What else?"

"Dates and phone calls only on Fridays or Saturdays."

"Jackson that's…"

"This will not get in the way of anything else in her life. Including family time. If you don't agree with that you might as well kiss your very well-rounded, sweet teenage daughter goodbye."

"Fine, fine. Fridays and Saturdays. Alright."

"That's all for now, I guess," Jackson said, surprised April got up and started to walk out of the room right away. "Hey," he stood up and wrapped his arms around her waist. "We've been doing well for 14 years, together. Why all the sudden did you hide this from me? You shouldn't be afraid of how I'll react. Ever. I love you, and I love Kenz so much. I'm proud of her."

"I know. I just, I'm really proud of her too. And I want to give her freedom to be the teenager I never really got a chance to be. I'm sorta, kinda living vicariously through my kid, as unhealthy as that might be," April chuckled, uncomfortable with such raw truth.

Jackson kissed her. "You'd better not be. Did you see how oily that boy's face was? And what was he wearing?" he wrinkled his nose in disgust and got a slap on the shoulder for the millionth time in their marriage. "You have a man. With a perfectly clear face who is willing to do anything to please his beautiful, sexy trauma surgeon wife. Whenever she wants." He pecked her lips again.

"You know what would please me so much right now, honey?"

"Mmm what?" he whispered in her ear, ready for anything, even though the kids were awake.

"If you go apologize to your kids for misdirecting your anger at them. I'll go fix you a plate and bring it to you," she whispered back, and wiggled out of his arms.

"And I thought I was about to here you talk dirty for the first time in 14 years…"

"Hey! Don't get me started mister, you are very well taken care of in that department." She gave him a sly grin over her shoulder and went downstairs to make him a plate of food.

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><p>Kenzie was not in her room when Jackson knocked, but he heard high pitched screams coming from the game room. "What's going on in here?" he asked when he entered.<p>

"Kenzie sucks at Mario Kart," Justin answered, matter of fact.

"Hey, since when is 'sucks' an acceptable word in this house?"

Justin shrugged and sighed. "Sorry Kenzie, but you are bad at it."

"Whatever little man, you're right, it's fine. Am I grounded dad?" She bit her lip nervously and looked up at Jackson. For a second he saw his wife in front of him. She'd had the same nervous habit for as long as he'd known her. He wished April would take more credit for their children's good genes.

"Nope. You had permission from your mother, it's alright. But from now on you need both of our permission to bring a boy into this house, I don't care what kind of friend he is." Kenzie nodded, unblinking. "And no sitting on anyone's lap, you hear me? I don't even want to see you holding anyone's hand…Don't you dare even think to take him to your room or kiss him or…"

"Ew gross!" Justin interjected his opinion, even though his eyes were focused on the TV screen.

Kenzie sighed and rolled her eyes. "Okay dad, I get it…"

"And dates only on Friday or Saturday…and if your grades go down even a little bit or if you miss any cheerleading or club meetings..."

"They won't. I won't. Can I go now? Justin just looked lonely in here. I was gonna go read."

"Fine but…we're having a more detailed talk about this Ethan character tomorrow, you understand me?" he screamed out to her, she was halfway down the hall.

"Whatever dad."

"I love you Kenz. Rules come from a place of love."

"Love you too, dad. Your rules suck though."

Jackson just rolled his eyes, causing Justin to huff. "How come she don't have to say sorry?" he asked, arms crossed now that his race was over.

"Because sometimes, Justin…I just gotta pick my battles with the ladies of this house. But also, you said a person sucked and she just said some rules sucked."

"Oh, OK." Justin shrugged. "We can play 2K now or is my time up? I setted timer like always but Kenzie sayed it's Friday and anyway rules can be breaked, sometimes. It's fun."

"We can play 2K for a little bit. But first I wanted to say sorry for snapping at you. I'm really proud of you for writing your name, today. And you have been a really good boy all week. I was just upset with mommy, but I'm not anymore. Sorry, bud. Dads make mistakes too."

Justin just shrugged again. "I forgotted atil you remembered me. It's OK."

Jackson laughed. "You forgot until I reminded you, bud."

"Yeah!" he said, moving from the couch to go change the game.

"Freeze!" April called, and both her son and her husband obliged. She grinned, satisfied she still had that superpower at times. "I come bearing pizza and cookies and all I want in return is to beat your butts in MarioKart. Scoot over daddy." April handed him a plate of food and then sat next to him on the couch.

"But I haved cookies downstairs, mom. I didn't play this game wit dad yet."

"Oh," April exaggerated a pout. "But I brought you extra just because we're celebrating you writing your name. And I thought you might want to play with me."

Justin rolled his eyes. "I just wroted my name. No big deal. Kenzie sayed I far far far away from bein' a surgery man."

Jackson snorted. "So is she. But of course we want to play with mommy, right? And who would turn down extra cookies? Only a silly person. What do you say, bud? How about we play MarioKart with mom tonight and then I'll help you with chores tomorrow and we can sneak some game time in after?"

"Break the rules?" Justin wrinkled his nose.

"Shhh our secret. Mommy has to work tomorrow while Kenzie is at cheerleading. No one will barge in saying they can beat us at a silly racing game."

Justin restarted the game and handed his mom a controller.

"They can't even beat us dad, they jus' think so."

"I don't know buddy, your mama's pretty tough." He put his arm around her as the first race started. April beat both of the boys fair and square. Just a typical Friday night.


	9. Protection

**So, this is just fluff. The prompt was April has a false labor and now Jackson won't stop following her around. This is what I came up with. Because remember, as long as April's pregnant I count it as "kid fluff." Oh yeah, happy Grey's Day, FINALLY! I figured we could all use some legit pointless fluff before tonight. **

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><p>"So, I'll just get your shoulder popped back in for you and you'll be all set to go Mr. Sabor…you've gotta be more careful sliding in to home though, promise? It's your second time here in two months." April smiled.<p>

"Yeah," the patient chuckled. "Intramural baseball gets pretty intense around playoffs."

"Oh, I bet. I won't let my husband join a serious basketball league because of that. He needs full function in his arms to keep doing what he does and stay happy," she said, moving toward the patient.

"Here, let me get that for you, Dr. Kepner." Suddenly, Jackson's voice behind April startled her and caused her to jump and clutch her belly.

"Jac…Dr. Avery you scared me. I've got it though, you can _leave_." She said the last part through gritted teeth and tried to push him out of the partition. But he sidestepped her and tried to move toward Mr. Sabor.

April stopped him and pulled him outside of the curtain, muttering apologies to the confused man as she did. "Getting me banished to the pit wasn't good enough for you? It was a false alarm and I'm _fine._ Dr. Rosen cleared me to work. You and Hunt ganging up on me isn't going to make me go home! God, you don't give up, do you. All day with the shadowing…it's ridiculous."

"Sweetheart, you have an hour left in your shift…Go home, relax, take a bubble bath, please? It's slow anyway, and it's my paperwork day. I can take over for you."

"YOU go home and take a bubble bath. I can certainly pop shoulders back in to sockets and stitch people up."

"Ahh but are your stitches as perfect as mine?" Jackson smirked as April rolled her eyes. Her stitches weren't as perfect as his and they both knew it. Trauma was far less focused on perfection than Plastics. Pretty really didn't matter when a life was on the line.

"I. Am not. Going. Home," she whispered, trying to sound as menacing as possible.

"I. Am not. Going. Away," he repeated, in the same tone. April threw her head back and groaned in frustration, but re-entered the partition with Jackson following behind.

"Sorry about that Mr. Sabor. Just a little uhhh….professional disagreement." She quickly went over to him and popped his shoulder back in the socket without warning before Jackson could get to it. She felt bad when the man screamed in pain, but it was better to do it without warning anyway.

She went on to the next patient. "Hi Miss Langer, I'm Dr. Kepner…let's see here…oh you just need…a banana bag…coming right up!"

"Can _he _do it?" the college student asked, giggling.

April forced a chuckle. "Oh Dr. Avery? He's just…just an intern shadowing me today…he can barely take a temperature at this point. Yup. He's pretty much just wasting space at the moment," she said, preparing the fluid.

Jackson covered his mouth to keep from bursting into hysterical laughter. His wife was the only person in the world he let damage his ego and get away with it. OK, and his mother. And his grandfather. So, she was the only person he found endearing when they were _trying _to damage his ego.

"He can take my temperature. Actually, it's getting hot in here…" She coughed. "I think I might be getting sick." April stabbed the needle in to the girl's arm a little harder than she normally would.

"Sit tight Candice, you'll be out of here in no time."

"Hopefully not before I get your number, Dr. Hottie," the girl screamed as Jackson and April left.

It definitely wasn't April's day. First the false labor right before her shift started. Then the fights with Owen all day as he kept putting her on less and less important cases, clearly listening to a little voice on his phone named Jackson. Then Jackson started following her around the pit, her annoying shadow. Now, the past three patients April had tended to all had eyes for her husband and kept saying something about it. To his credit, Jackson didn't ever say anything beyond hello to them when she introduced him. She thought better of calling him an intern again, because there might actually be a serious case behind one of these curtains.

Good thing she made that decision, because the next patient had some pretty infected scars. She was two weeks post-op after a breast augmentation at Mass Gen. Her pain didn't stop her from flirting though. "Do you think _he_ could take a look, please?" she asked, winking.

April had been fragile and emotional all day because of the false labor, though she'd been trying to ignore it. Plus, throughout her whole pregnancy her hormones made her sensitive. Add the reactions of the past three patients and the fact that she was about to ask Jackson to do just what the woman had asked sent her over the edge. She turned on her heels, covered her face and ran before the woman could hear her sobs.

"Hey. Shhh…April, it's OK, sweetheart. Let it out."

"I'm s-s-sorry. It's s-s-sstupid. I just…I love you and you're h-h-h-h-handsome, b-but this h-h-appeends so much and I-I-I know you love me, but…"

"It's not stupid, you've had a really tough day April. But you're right. I love _you._ You really think I was looking twice at those women?"

April took a deep breath to calm herself. "No. Not at all. Just, it gets…hard sometimes. I just…I have problems accepting myself and..."

Jackson pulled his wife into a tighter hug and kissed the top of her head. "I know. I know, April. But you know the only thing I've been thinking about since you yelled at me?"

"What?"

"You. In a bath. Full of bubbles."

April bit her lip. "That is a nice thought, actually."

Jackson laughed and pecked her lips, sure she was thinking about it in a completely different context than he was. "Just take the next half hour off. Go home, take a bath. Relax. I really am worried about you and our little baby girl. You know she has a month left to bake and if she comes out now, her lungs won't be as developed as they need to be. I'm just worried."

"OK, I know. But I have two-weeks of work left. You can't be my shadow for two weeks. You have to let me work."

"But it's so sexy, watching you work," he whispered in her ear.

"Relax buddy. You've gotta go touch Liz's boobs now," April deadpanned, monotone.

Jackson wrinkled his nose. "Yeah. Her discussing, bruised, puss-filled, infected boobs. So fun!" He rolled his eyes. "Besides, the only person's body I ever like to touch is yours."

April blushed. "Same, babe."

"So, you're gonna go home and draw a bath, right?"

"Yeah," she whispered. "But we can't…"

"I know. Nothing that might induce labor….But you should go relax."

"Mmm! I love you." She kissed him one last time before she let go of him. "Jackson, if she's bad please call Dr. Walsh. I don't want to sleep alone tonight."

"You won't, April. You won't be sleeping alone tonight. I promise."

Jackson went to go care for the patient, but something told April to wait outside the curtain a minute. "Sorry about that. Dr. Kepner, my wife she's…well she's pregnant and she's been having some nausea. April smiled and wiped a tear from her eye before she went to the attendings lounge. A happy one this time. Because her husband was always protecting her, even when she didn't even realize she needed him to.


End file.
